The Bagg Group Blog

At The Bagg Group, we have a seasonal message for all job-hunters in the GTA:  Don’t put your search on hold for the holidays.

Many people assume that hiring goes into a deep freeze between Christmas and New Year’s.  It doesn’t.  Some people may be away for a few days, but others are at their desk, using the holiday lull to get though their mail and tackle such tasks as reading resumes for a position to be filled.

At The Bagg Group, recruiters are busy year-round placing candidates in full-time positions, contract work, and temporary placements with the best companies across the GTA.  Our work continues even as the eggnog is poured. 

Here are three tips from our recruiters to help you make the most of your job search this holiday season.

 1.  Lend a hand:  There’s typically increased need for temporary work during the holiday season.  Consider the advantages:  It’s a way to earn money during an expensive time of year, and it’s an opportunity to get a foot in the door at a good company.  

 2. Network: People are in better than average moods during the holiday season so it’s the perfect time to network.  Whatever the occasion, be it a coffee or a party, be sure to keep your chat upbeat and positive.  A networking encounter is never the time to share worries and frustrations about your job hunt.  If you do, you could find yourself standing alone by the buffet table for most of the evening.  Instead, mention that you’re looking forward to an exciting year as you seek new opportunities in your field.

It’s always helpful to remember that the key to networking is to build relationships. This involves showing genuine interest in the other person.  A social encounter is not a job interview. Keep the focus on the person, not on their business card and what they can do for you. And try to remember a few details of the conversation to refer to later in a possible email to the contact you made.

3. Look for volunteer opportunities:  There is always a call for volunteers during this time of year.  We know from more than 40 years of experience in successfully placing candidates that volunteering is great for the spirit. And when candidates feel good about themselves, they do better in interviews. Another benefit of volunteering is that you expand your circle by meeting those who are helping out alongside you.  If you don’t know where to volunteer, check out www.volunteertoronto.ca which posts volunteer positions.

Those who look for work during holiday times are at a competitive advantage since many job hunters take an extended break from mid-December to mid-January.

That said, at The Bagg Group we know that looking for a job is a job in itself, and everyone needs some time off.  Be sure to give yourself a few days holiday to have fun and recharge.  That’s the gift of the season. 

From all of us at The Bagg Group, our very best wishes for the holidays.

One of the biggest obstacles when job-hunting is sticking with your plan to keep looking. 

At last count, in the US, there were an estimated 4.9 million workers who have simply given up and stopped looking for employment.  It’s a different story in Canada as our economy did not take as strong a hit as that of our neighbor to the south.  But that doesn’t mean those who are looking to find employment in the GTA don’t get discouraged as well.

If you stop looking for a job, all you’ve got working for you is chance.  It’s possible you’ll get a call out of the blue.  But keeping your fingers-crossed is not really an effective strategy for success.

So what can you do when you feel like stopping all efforts to find a job and turning on the TV instead?   The recruiters at The Bagg Group recommend using the buddy system.

There is scientific reason why working on a goal, with a partner, helps keep you on track.  According to studies done at the University of Tokyo, it physically reduces stress hormones.  According to studies at the University of Indiana, it increases commitment.   That’s reason enough to give the buddy system a try, and here are some tips from The Bagg Group recruiters on how to do it.  

• Pick a buddy:  It’s ideal if you know someone who is looking for work in a different field than you so you don’t feel you are competing.  But you don’t need to buddy with another job-hunter, anyone who you respect who has a goal they want to meet can be helpful. 
• Set a weekly plan together:  Meet regularly, but stick to an agenda.  This meeting is your opportunity to review what you have done to date to meet your goals, what has been working and what hasn’t, and what you plan to do in the next week. 
• Consider sending each other daily plans:  This is effective for two reasons.

1. It forces you to sit down every morning and make a list of what you would like accomplish by day’s end.  Working for a set list helps keeps you focused and gives you an important sense of achievement.
2. When you send your list to someone, you feel more motivated to do what you said you would.  If you know your buddy will email you at the end of the day to ask if you got through your list, you will be more driven to get things done so you can reply, YES.

 At The Bagg Group, recruiters have placed thousands of people successfully in full-time placements, contract work, and temporary placements.  That’s why we know persistence pays off.  And we also know that sometimes when you are walking a path and the going gets tough, it helps to have someone walking alongside to keep you moving forward no matter what.  

If at this time of the summer you find it hard to stick to your goal to keep looking for work when all those around you seem to be taking time off, take the two-hour challenge.  Ask yourself, “What would you do if your work day was only two hours long?”

Chances are you wouldn’t waste it on Facebook.  Instead, you’d race the clock to accomplish your top priority for the day. 

Time management experts say the best way to motivate yourself to do work is to set a tight deadline.  As American mystery writer Rita Mae Brown once famously said, “A deadline is negative inspiration.  Still, it’s better than no inspiration at all.” 

As we noted in a past blog, whether you’re seeking a full-time position, contract work, or temporary placement in the GTA, the end of the summer is as good a time as any to be job hunting. Contrary to popular belief, The Bagg Group recruiters confirm businesses hire year-round.  We know our recruiters are continuing to successfully place people in the best companies in the GTA, even in the weeks before Labour Day.

That’s why The Bagg Group recruiters advise candidates who have trouble staying on task during these last weeks of August to start their day with two dedicated hours of job search activities.   In those two hours, focus on the task that could potentially have the greatest impact.  Reading news about your industry is important as you must stay up-to-date, but writing a covering letter and sending out a resume has a greater chance of making a difference to your life.

One reason the short two-hour deadline works better than a full-day deadline is because it provides the sense of urgency we often need to focus and work efficiently. Productivity experts note that more time you give yourself to do a task, the more time you will likely take to do it.   

Recruiters at The Bagg Group offer these tips for those willing to take the two-hour challenge:

• Make a list of everything you want to accomplish within the two hours.  As soon as you finish one task, draw a line through it.  The satisfaction of accomplishing one item on your list spurs you on to tackle another. 
• Schedule an activity for the two-hour mark, such as a lunch or even a coffee break. This gives you a real reason to work to the clock.  
• Work within your two hour deadline to write your first draft of a resume, covering letter, inquiry letter, etc.  Facing a blank screen is daunting, so if you tell yourself that it has to be done by a certain time no matter what, you’ll force the worrier and perfectionist in you to get out of the way so you can get the job done.   Once you get something on paper, you’ll find it easier to rewrite, edit, change, and improve.    

Those who have taken the challenge know that it comes with a bonus. When you see how much you can accomplish in two hours of dedicated work, you’re inspired to put in another two.  That’s because you launched yourself into a productive state-of-mind.  So this summer, rather than kick back before Labour Day, fire up every morning.   And if some days you don’t do more than two hours, you can still take comfort in the fact that you will still have taken a proactive step forward toward finding the job you want.

Remember the classic tale of The Tortoise and the Hare? The rabbit is so certain that a turtle can’t beat him in a race that he stops to nap during the event.  He wakes up to find the turtle had crossed the finish line while he was sleeping.

The moral of the story for candidates looking for full-time positions, contract work or part-time placements in the GTA is this:  Don’t spend the summer snoozing.  You may think the world has abandoned their desks and phones for the beach, but think again.

There is a widespread myth that hiring stops in the summer.  But that’s simply not the case, say The Bagg Group recruiters who are hard at work, placing candidates with the best companies in the GTA this season.

Business needs don’t take holidays.  While people may take a break for a week or two, the work goes on, even in sweltering temperatures.  Companies with openings are eager to fill them as soon as they can. Candidates who nap the summer away lose out.

The bonus of job hunting in summer is you have a competitive edge.  The great majority of candidates make the mistake of putting their hunt on ice from Canada Day weekend to Labour Day.  That’s cause enough to double your efforts.

The misconception that ‘nothing happens in the summer’ may have traveled over from Europe. The BBC has nicknamed August the “silly season” since so many employees get the entire month off, and much grinds to a halt  But in the GTA, it’s very much business as usual whether you are looking for a full-time position, contract work or temporary placement.

So if you are heading out to the coffee shop for a frappuccino, pick up your your laptop and take it with you. Prepare to send out resumes and make calls.  And to inspire you, consider these advantages:

Interviews may be more relaxed:  In summer, the workplace typically moves to a somewhat less hurried pace.  Interviewers may feel less harried when meeting with you, and can spend a little more time.  That means more time for you to talk about the skills and experience you can contribute to help the organization meet its objectives.

More temporary and contract work:  Recruiters at The Bagg Group note that summer is often the time when department heads will bring in additional short-term help to cover for employees on holiday.

Networking is easier:  It’s a good  time to call up contacts as many are glad for a reason to step out of the office for a little bit and head to a nearby patio to catch up.  Even the busiest contact may be more inclined to agree to 15-minutes, if only to catch a bit of summer breeze.

As we say often, looking for a job is a job. And you need a break as much as anyone.  But think twice before giving yourself the entire summer off.  Instead, be a fair but wise boss to yourself.

Consider putting yourself on summer hours:  shortened  work days and occasional three-day weekends.  And by all means, take a holiday from the computer for a week or two.  But in-between, keep actively looking for postings, targeting companies, sending out resumes, and networking.

With 40 years of successfully placing people, The Bagg Group recruiters know the sleeping hare never gets the job, any time of year.  

You just never know.   It could be that one day the resume as we know it will go the way of the dinosaur.  Instead, recruiters will conduct online searches to turn up profiles of people who match their needs.  

Last year, a US survey of human resource experts shows that 36% of respondents believe that it’s likely that resumes will eventually be replaced by profiles on social and business networking sites, such as Facebook and Linkedin.

But that day is not here yet.  For now, a good resume is still essential if you’re looking for full-time work, contract work, or temporary placements in the GTA.

However, you still need to make sure you have a positive online presence to impress hiring managers.  That’s because there’s a chance that if they like your resume, they’ll look up your name on the internet.   

As many as 79% of recruiting professionals in the US who responded to a 2010 Microsoft survey said they do online research on candidates whom they are considering for jobs.

The large majority (85%) of recruiters said that a positive online reputation influences their decision to hire the candidate.

However, it’s especially important for job-hunters to know that a whopping 70% said they had rejected candidates because they didn’t like what they saw when they found them online.

Dan Schawbel, writes in Forbes magazine blog that nowadays, “your responsibility is to guard and manage your reputation like it’s the most sacred thing in the world.”  Recruiters at The Bagg Group couldn’t agree more.

We live in an era where it’s common to post enormous amounts of private, informal, information about ourselves.  On social network sites and in our personal blogs, we share pictures that we wouldn’t dream of showing to an interviewer.  We tell stories, make comments, post jokes, and give status updates that we would not want to serve as our introduction to a potential employer.

That’s why at The Bagg Group, we urge candidates to follow these tips:

• Set your privacy settings on all social networking sites, such as Facebook, to allow access to friends only. When job searching in the GTA, only people who know you should be able see your profile page.  To maximize your Facebook security, check out the tips in this New York Daily News article Worried about your Facebook privacy? Six things you should know.
• Your profile picture will show up in a name search on Facebook. You don’t want that picture to hurt your professional reputation.  When job hunting, it’s not the time to post a shot of yourself in a bathing suit, puffing on a cigarette, waving an empty bottle of tequila.  
• If you have any videos of yourself on Youtube, ask yourself if they could possibly make a bad impression. Err on the side of caution and remove any which you are unsure about.  And remember, you can’t be sure that potential employers will share your sense of humour.
• If you write a personal blog, don’t write anything you wouldn’t want an interviewer to read.  Avoid all rants and swear words. These won’t help your case.  Instead, they could make possible employers worry about how you’d handle difficult situations at work.
• Update your profile on professional social marketing sites, such as Linkedin.  Devote time to connecting with as many other professionals as possible and asking for recommendations.  

Consider that when potential employers look you up on the internet, they are interviewing you, without you knowing it.   They’re doing research to help them determine if you’re the right fit for their company.  In a face-to-face interview, you take control of your image.  It only makes sense to do the same online.

Not sure what to do next to move your job hunt forward? 

Sometimes, when looking for new job, you may wonder how to schedule your time — should you reformat your resume, spend time researching companies, work on upgrading your skills, look for volunteer opportunities, or call old contacts.

It happens to us all that when we’re not sure what to do, we overwhelm ourselves by listing dozens of things we could be doing. But the more ideas we have, the less we typically do.

And if you are seeking a job in the GTA, be it a full-time position, contract work, or temporary job, you need to work at it.  A to-do list can help you get moving.

Recruiters at The Bagg Group, who have decades of experience in helping candidates find the best jobs in the GTA, offer these tips for how to make an effective to-do list.

Don’t make a mile-long list:  Timothy Pychyl, a professor of psychology at Carleton University in Ottawa and a procrastination expert, says it is easy to put all our time and energy into writing a list.  As a result, the list itself becomes the work of the day. 

So don’t list the dozens of things you could be doing. Instead, choose three tasks and put them in order of priority.

Break down the first priority task into small steps: Consider the most important activity you need to accomplish –it is probably the task that seems the most difficult to you.  Write down all the steps necessary to complete this task.  Make this list of steps the list that you work with.      

Be specific:  For example, if you need to find your old resumes to produce a new one, write down:  Find past resumes..

Stick to one task at a time: Tackle each step, one after another.  Don’t give a thought to the other items on your day’s to-do list until you have completed the item you are working on.                                                                                                  

Now do this: There’s a wonderfully named app called Now Do This  (www.nowdothis.com) that is a great example of a simple, but effective way to work through a list.  With this app, you make a list of what you need to do in order of importance.  Now Do This will show only the first item on your to-do list, at the top of a clean, empty screen. It is only when you click on the Done button that the next item on your list appears, again on a clean, empty screen.  

“Now do this” is a terrific thing to say to yourself to keep you focused. It is less stressful and far more productive to just concentrate on the one task at hand.

Work to a schedule:  Looking for a job is a job.  Put in set hours, schedule in breaks, and keep to your timetable.

Reward yourself:  When you tick off an item from your to-do list, recognize that it’s an accomplishment.  And at the end of the day, tell yourself and anyone who asks that you had a great day.

Feeling good about what you are doing as you look for a job is important. When you network and meet with interviewers your good spirits can make all the difference.

 A new year brings in the promise of a fresh start.  If you are carrying over a job search from 2010, re-invigorate your search by starting the year off by doing at least one thing differently.

For example, move a dreaded task necessary for your job search in the GTA from the bottom of your to-do list to the top.

We all share a tendency to avoid those tasks which are out of our comfort zone. But research shows that it’s more energizing to get those activities out of the way than to have them hang over your head all day. 

And as you change the time, change your perspective.  With 40 years of successfully finding candidates full-time work, contract work and part-time placements, recruiters at The Bagg Group offer these tried and true tips for how to rethink two commonly disliked tasks.   

1) The covering letter:

If you dislike writing a covering letter, do it first thing in the morning, and think of your letter as a puzzle.

Some people actually make the activity into a puzzle.  Here’s how it works:

• Write out each point you wish to make as a sentence. 
• Cut out each sentence.
• Re-read the ad to determine the organization’s order of priority for the skills and experience it is seeking.
• Move your sentences around to try and match the organization’s list of priorities.

In this way by your coffee break, you’ll have a terrific first draft for your letter.  And even better, you may find yourself so engaged in your puzzle, you won’t notice that you’re actually composing a letter. 

2) The call to network

For many job seekers, making a call to former colleagues or contacts to network can be more uncomfortable than root canal.   

About 40% of us are shy, according to Bernardo Carducci, director of the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana State University.   His advice: Don’t focus on your request for help with your job search, just put your focus on being nice.

In an interview with Penelope Trunk, author of The Brazen Careerist, Professor Carducci said, “Shy people need to be more other-focused and less self-focused. Think about what you can do for the other person. Shy people worry that their opening comment will not be smart enough or witty enough, so they never get started. Instead, remember that when initiating contact you don’t need to be brilliant, you just need to be nice.”  

And you are “nice” when you show you are genuinely interested in the person with whom you are speaking.  It doesn’t take more than that to establish good connections.

When offices shut down for the holidays, it’s your cue to do the most important thing you can do at this time.  Take a mental break.

Recruiters at The Bagg Group know that job-hunters can spend statutory holidays fretting. We also hear how about how many don’t look forward to gatherings with friends and family they haven’t seen for a while because they dread being asked, “Do you have job yet?” 

Here’a tip for how to answer that question.  Tell whoever asks that right now you are working – you are doing planning, marketing, and sales to find a position that is right for you.  But for today, your office is closed.

We all need a time-off from whatever it is we are working on, and that includes seeking a full-time job, contract work, or temporary placement in the GTA. 

Creativity experts say sometimes it is when you stop thinking about your goals for awhile that you come up with great ideas out of the blue.

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the best-seller Eat, Love, Pray is a case in point.  When she hit writer’s block, she turned off her computer and put all her energies into gardening.   She wrote in Oprah magazine that, “quite suddenly, out of nowhere—I realized exactly how to fix my book. I washed my hands, returned to my desk, and within three months I’d completed the final version of Committed—a book that I now love.  Gardening, in other words, had turned me back into a writer.”

So when there’s nobody there to read your email or return your call, give yourself the best gift you can this time of year…a time-out to recharge your batteries.   With 40 years of placing candidates with the best companies in the GTA, we can assure job-seekers that a holiday spent doing something you love will pay-off in renewed energy for the new year.

From all of us at The Bagg Group, happy holidays.

At The Bagg Group, we love a good story as much as anyone else.  But this December, it’s time for us to debunk the three greatest myths of the month:

1.  Poinsettias are poison for humans.  Not according to the Minnesota Poison Control which promises these Christmas plants don’t kill.

2.   Boxing Day was born of the urge to return gifts of scratchy too-small sweaters as fast as possible.  In fact, its origin is an old-time British practice of giving boxes of food to employees. 

3.  There’s no point looking for full-time positions, contract work or temporary work in the GTA in December.  That’s just not true!  A bowl of candy canes at the reception desk doesn’t mean all work stops.

Recruiters at The Bagg Group are setting the record straight with these true facts about job-hunting in December.

‘Tis the season to be available and willing to be called in to help out. Many staffers book winter vacations during the holiday season, resulting in a greater need for temporary work.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year to network. With thoughts of the holidays floating in people’s head, many are in better than average moods and more generous with their time.

Hiring authorities with positions to fill don’t want to put their job searches on hold.  They prefer to start the new year with new hires in place.

It’s also true that it can be more difficult to schedule interviews with decision-makers in the latter half of December.  That said, throughout the years, recruiters at The Bagg Group have sent candidates for interviews with the best companies in the GTA on December 24 and December 31. 

The bottom line?  Looking for a job is like running your own business.  And every business has to think competitively.  Many of your competitors for jobs will likely take most of December off.   And that’s why you shouldn’t.

Instead, take your cues from The Bagg Group recruiters who successfully help people find positions 12 months of the year:   Go ahead and decorate your work space with a poinsettia, and keep candy canes within reach, but don’t stop working toward your goal until office doors shut for the holidays.

At The Bagg Group, we know that seeking a full-time placement, contract work or temporary employment takes energy. 

Until you find the placement that’s right for you, it can sometimes feel as if you’re swimming against the tide.  Having placed people with top organizations in the GTA for decades, recruiters at The Bagg Group know that even the most positive candidates have to work to stay motivated during their job search at times.

If your get-up-and-go has gone, follow theses six tips to get your energy back.

Set small goals:  Lofty goals can leave you feeling disappointed, rather than energized.  Don’t put pressure on yourself to land a fantastic job within a short period of time.   Instead, write an specific, achievable, list of tasks for each day that are within your ability to accomplish.  

At day’s end, focus on the goals you’ve achieved, not those you have yet to reach:  When you complete a task, give yourself a high five.  It’s not arrogant or conceited to feel good about yourself, it’s a key strategy that is practiced by all successful job-seekers.  Celebrating small wins is a way to stay confident and positive — two qualities which are valued by hiring managers at organizations throughout the GTA.

Forget perfection, strive for progress:  If you didn’t catch a typo on a covering letter until it’s too late, if  you missed an opportunity, or messed up on an interview, immediately replace the words “if only”  with “next time”.  You can never go back in time but fortunately, you can always move forward, a little bit wiser.

Take a break:  When you truly feel your battery is on empty, take time out to do whatever it is you love to do to recharge.  

Work where other people are working:  If you have a laptop, consider working at a friend’s house  or office. If that’s not possible, head to a coffee shop with your phone and your computer. Simply being around others who are working can motivate you keep  focused on your tasks.  What’s more, looking for a job can be lonely business.  For the price of a coffee, you can feel less alone during the day. 

Choose a winning team:  Surround yourself with positive people who persevere with their own goals and remind you to persevere with yours.

Stay motivated and energetic, and you can be sure people will respond to your enthusiasm and be that much more interested in helping you meet your goals.