Article By: Dan Goldsmith (Dan@aclion.com)

I am working with an excellent candidate right now and we are in the middle of a very big deal. If it works out this guy stands to take on a big sales team at the immediate intersection of two of the most valuable areas of the online interactive marketing/media space: Paid Local Search and Location Based Services. [I'd like to note that I am still not yet a huge believer in the monetization of mobile content – the operative word there is “YET”.] However when it comes to local merchant services – now that’s a solution that is right and its right now! Think about taking every Yellow Pages in the entire country and stuffing it into your cell phone. Wherever/Whenever/Whatever – it really is that simple.

Anyhow back to the deal at hand. We had a solid initial offer in terms of base, commissions, territory and team manage override. What makes this candidate a great professional to work with is his poise and acumen as well as preparation. He sees all the moving parts that compose over-all value to this deal and is willing to extract value in one area that may be lacking in another. Basically, as a sales guy you want to know you have a cheap product for cheap needs and a comprehensive product for robust needs.

Bottom line is that while we have a great long term deal available in location based services, these business models still must define short sell cycle opportunities for the sales team to use to take down the quick opportunities. I now have more appreciation for why all the SEM agencies started becoming “Me Too” digital agencies. It seems you cant build a super growth team on 18 month sell cycles.

Word to the mobile marketing pp, as you ramp up your sales team, make sure to go find short sell cycle products and services for them to sell.

Dan Goldsmith | Managing Director, AC Lion

E-Mail By: Joshua Russak (Red@aclion.com)

Check out our 1st Newsletter for Summer 2008. Simple, fun and room to constantly add and improve....check it out:

 

ACLION.COM  |  JOB SEEKERS  |  CONTACT US  |   Subscribe To Our Blog

%firstname%,

Summer 2008 marks an amazing year here at AC Lion, NY's premier interactive executive search firm. Unfortunately, we can't exactly say the same for our current Economy. Like a tidal wave, "recession rumors" swept through every newspaper headline, blog and newsletter. But through it all, our economy is holding on strong. We've seen these surges come and go before - with 12 years of staffing experience - it's nothing new. We have surfed some of the biggest waves our economy threw at us and we continue to ride it to the end. 

 Have fun with some of our topics below and if you're interested in further reading, check out our blog, Blog.AClion.

 Enjoy! 

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Top10 Reasons to Look For a New Job

1. Your company is experiencing a downward spiral


2. Your relationship with your manager is damaged beyond repair


3. Your life situation has changed


4. Your values are at odds with the corporate culture


5. You've stopped having fun and enjoying your job


6. Your company is ethically challenged


7. You have behaved in ways that are considered improper


8. You've burned your bridges with your coworkers


9. Your stress level is high at work and is affecting your physical/mental health
10. You are unchallenged...

So are you ready to start looking? We can help find you "reasons" to like your new job. Check out OUR OPEN JOBS HERE. To read the whole article: Click Here. (compliments of About.com)

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AC Lion Resurfaces: Blog2.0!

Today, only about 12% of Fortune 500 corporations run a corporate blog. Yet companies that have made a commitment—including Dell, Eastman Kodak Co., IBM Corp., Intel Corp. and SAP—are now deep into blogging programs with multiple weblogs, dozens of bloggers and a wealth of expertise and best practices to share. (Businesses Embrace Blogging)

For many companies, especially that larger ones, the question isn't "To Blog Or Not To Blog", rather how to expand current blogging efforts and include them as an integral approach to their overall "Social Media" campaigns.

With that, AC Lion recently launched their new and improved BLOG 2.0!"Michael Martine of Remarkablogger defines a business blog as one that supports the sales and marketing efforts of your company". (BtoB)  With the help of newly appointed Marketing Coordinator, Joshua Russak, AC Lion has re-built, re-launched and SPICED-UP their blog! Check it out for yourself and stay on top of some of the major changes in the online Interactive Marketing space. Click below to see for yourself...

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5 Ways To Help "Relax" @ Work

It's SUMMER TIME! Yet, for many individuals "Work" & "Relax" don't seem to go together...that was until companies like GOOGLE and MICROSOFT began to implement "Fun/Relax" into their work environment. As a recruiter, one of the major questions we ask our job seekers is simply "what type of environment are you looking for?". Besides hearing I'd Like To Work From Home half of the time, I hear the word Fast-Paced and Relaxed paired together more often than not. The only way that is possible is by having the time to relax at work. 

Listed Below are 5 suggestions to finding ZEN in your workplace. Let us know if they help:

1. Find Your Breath
   
2. Get Sunlight and Wide Open Spaces
   
3. Get A Good Green or White Tea
   
4. Try Classical Music
   
5. Just relax....
   

....at AC Lion, we know all about how to relax (just ask the Job Seekers who've been here before). To see for yourself feel free to CONTACT US HERE. Read more from the original article here.

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Thank you for reading our newsletter and if you're interested in reading more about Industry Trends, take a look at our blog, www.Blog.ACLion.com. To read more about what we do,  check our website, click here.

 

All the best,

Alan Cutter | Founder & CEO

The AC Lion Team:
Alan Cutter, CEO
Mike Adler, Managing Partner
Dan Goldsmith, Managing Director
Bonnie Zaben, COO
Josh Russak, Online Marketing Coordinator
Ted O’Brien, Director

Matt Devlin, Executive Recruiter

Nadav Geft, Executive Recruiter

Josh Marmer, Executive Recruiter

David Shadpour, Executive Recruiter

Josh Benporat, Executive Recruiter

Eve Stieglitz, Executive Recruiter

Sean Weinberg, Executive Recruiter

Jessica Flitter, Sourcer

Edna Brown, Senior Associate

Article By: Nadav Geft (Nadav@aclion.com)

As the world of digital advertising evolves, so does the tedious/“Man, I am so not in the mood to do this” world of resume writing. While some may stick to the old, conventional ways of “showing your stuff” on paper, here are a few tips I've come across (in my experience as a digital media recruiter) to help you separate yourself from the competition and land the position you’ve been ever-so yearning for in the digital space.

A. Down with Objectives! (well, most of the time) – I would go as far to say that most hiring managers rarely, if ever, look at the “objective” portion of a resume. This is largely due to the fact that most people state the obvious and resume readers view it as a waste of time. For example, if you are an Account Manager with two years AM experience, trying to further your career in the same field, there is no need to state, “looking to utilize my skills in account management to grow my career in client services.” Of course you’re looking to move your career forward in client services, otherwise you wouldn’t have applied for a Senior Account Manager position!

However, as with every rule, there are of course exceptions :) Although 95% of the time objectives are useless, there are some cases where they can be very helpful. The first: when you are trying to switch over into a new department or a more focused role; for example, “looking to transfer my up-selling skills in account management into a full-fledged sales position.” The second: if you bring a very diverse background or wear many hats in your current role, you can sum up your best talents in a sentence or two. For example, “…highly proficient in affiliate marketing, search, and online video. Led teams of up to 10 salespeople and bring national contacts in CPG, pharmaceuticals, and technology.” Specifics are what sell and is really what a hiring manager wants to see when evaluating your candidacy. If you think that these managers sit down at their desk and spend their afternoon examining your resume, you can think again because I would say they look at it for somewhere between 7-10 seconds.

B. Details, details, details…– Many years ago, it was recommended to keep your resume relatively vague so that hiring managers would feel as though they need to meet face-to-face in order to learn more about your experience. Nowadays, especially if you are in sales, it is suggested that you be very specific in your descriptions, and include as many details as possible. If you’re a solid seller, SHOW IT! Instead of using the last three bullet points to reiterate what a salesperson does, insert sales numbers, account lists, account growth, etc.
For example:

• Exceeded yearly quota of $1MM by 120%
• Grew revenue from $250,000 to $2.3MM in one year
• Succeeded in closing deals with clients such as: Coca-cola (list agency worked with), P&G, Hilton Hotels, etc.
• Won “Most New Business” award for Q3 and Q4

If you are in a client service capacity, talk about the size of accounts you work on, up-selling numbers, and account retention/growth [e.g. “Grew BestBuy account 110% (from 200,000 to 750,000)”]. These seemingly minor additions will not only distinguish you from the other applicants, but bode extremely well during the interview process too. In other words, by agreeing to meet with you, the company is essentially saying that they know all about you, can see that you have the necessary abilities to perform, and will speak to you in a more open manner from the get-go. Having an interview start with “So, looks like you really know your stuff my friend,” is usually better than “So what would you say, ya do here?!” (Office Space - sorry I had to throw it in there)

C. The Relevant Experience – After working with a few different companies, people tend to only discuss the experience that is pertinent to the position they are applying for. Though I agree with this approach, it is also important to include one’s previous employment (even if it reads, “Construction Worker, BNC Inc., 1998-2001”) to eliminate any questions such as “where was he for the 5 years before all of this?” And hey, maybe that interviewer of yours was also a professional bass fisherman before turning CEO.

Well, there you have it folks, the 3 big tips to writing a great resume and earning yourself a spot at the head of the table. Let your resume tell a story instead of being a page-full of job descriptions. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at Nadav@aclion.com.

Article By: Joshua 'The Red' Russak (Red@aclion.com)

According to AdAge.com article E-mail Blunder Alerts Carat Staff to Major Restructuring, "struggling media agency Carat is planning a major restructuring of its U.S. operations, including an undetermined number of layoffs -- news it accidentally released today via a memo the agency's top New York-based HR executive e-mailed to the entire agency that appeared to be intended only for senior managers."

I don't mean to laugh out loud (LOL), but this is worse than the time "a friend of mine" e-mailed 50,000 people with greetings "Hi [Firstname],". No, this is way...way worse! If you're wondering just how bad it was, courtesty of AdAge, read the documents for yourselves:Carat Restructuring Memo & Carat Restructuring Communication Plan.

Neither Carat President Scott Sorokin "nor a spokeswoman would comment on whether any disciplinary action would be taken as a result of the e-mail mishap". I'd hate to be in HR's shoes right about now. Quoting Ad Age Ediotor, John Hollon, "You pay those people to step up in these situations, not make it worse." This may be a good time for AC Lion Online Recruiters to show corporate what they're made of!

Article By: Joshua 'The Red' Russak (Red@aclion.com)

Article By: Joshua 'The Red' Russak (Red@aclion.com)

We are in the final days of October, a month that will be remembered as "the time in which the credit crunch came to a head not only for the economy as a whole but for the tech community in particular." (TechCrunch) Everybody in my office has been either asking or answering a very important question: "How does the current economic situation specifically effect the online sector?" And now we have a better idea...

Small Business and Startup Companies are being pushed to cut and focus on increasing their profit margin through better processes. Their "plan-of-action"? Layoffs!! Lots and lots of layoff, which keeps their bank accounts lasting a tad longer, especially for web companies that require little physical capital. VC firms like Sequoia Capital are urging their portfolio companies to cut costs and increase capital, with layoffs as the solution.

One of my co-workers at AC Lion made a great point, that as a recruiter you need to understand people should be more willing to hear about opportunities - in fact, they'd be crazy not to keep their ear to the ground about upcoming opportunities. Layoffs are happening everywhere I look and I recently stumbled on a new site that effectively tracks these layoffs, company information, etc. - TechCrunch Layoff Tracker. They've begun tracking all of the relevant layoffs in the tech sector. They've mapped out...Total Layoffs: 92, andTotal Employees: 24,662l
*For a comprehensive list Click Here.

A the end of the day, it's important to know who's laying off and why, and TechCrunch Layoffs is a great source for tracking firings...BUT I DO HAVE SOME GOOD NEWS!! I found another site, Web-Strategist.com, where Jeremiah Owyang, Sr Analyst at Forrester Research: Social Computing, started this post series (see archives) to recognize and congratulate folks who get promoted, move, or accept new exciting positions. Check it out, you may find your name on that list some day ;)

Article By: Joshua 'The Red' Russak (Red@aclion.com)

I was reading a CNN article "Ten Jobs That Pay $80,000 A Year", and noticed that Marketing Manager held the #6 spot. The statistics were as follows: Annual mean income: $86,283, Projected employment in 2016: 192,000, Increase between 2006 and 2016: 14%. That looks like a promising future, but I decided to do a little research of my own. I wanted to see the difference when I specified the position as "Online Marketing Manager".

So I went to 6 different Salary Predicting sites, typed in the term "Online Marketing Manager" and here is what I came up with:

1. Indeed.com: $72,000


2. SimplyHired: $76,000


3. Salary.com: $73,000


4. Yahoo! Hot Jobs:$64,145


5. CareerBuilder Salary: $86,746


6. Monster.com: $81,555

Article By: Joshua 'The Red' Russak (Red@aclion.com)

Congratulations AC Lion for hitting your 100th Blog Entry! This one alone makes 101, and makes 2008 a successful year for Blog.ACLion.com. Good luck on the next 100!

Well, no, it isn't. I'm working on a 'Job Hunters Anonymous' 12 Step Guide to Non-Anonymous Job Hunting.

Or something like that.

Anyway, came across a few blogs on interviewing at new media companies (very different from interviewing at old media companies)

Here are a few tasty morsels (or nuggets?)

"Dress Code:

There can be none. I want to show up in shorts or a basketball jersey, or have my tattoos be visable, it shouldnt matter. After all, are you hiring me for my looks or for my production?"

From http://learntoduck.com/business/hire-me

Or I really like this one:

"What are people's misconceptions of you?

This is almost a trick question. It's not intended as a trick, but nearly everyone gets stumped by it. I think its a critical competency for any successful executive to have a good degree of self-awareness in how others perceive them and what their own tendencies are. The only way to authentically answer this one is to actually know the answer."

Brought to you by http://walterknapp.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/12/a-couple-of-thoughts-about-interviews.html

I'll post more as I come across them.

Anyone have any good ones they'd like to share...

I regularly check in on the Online Advertising Professionals Group on Linkedin to see what's going on in our world, but I've never posted before. However, I came across this question by Brandon Desch, HR at Adbrite and thought I had to respond. See below: What do you think? How would you feel about having a commission only job? Would love to hear your responses!

From Brandon:

Hiring "commission-only" ad sales professionals

AdBrite is looking to add commission-only sales professionals to our team in the greater metropolitan locations: NY, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, LA, San Francisco. These folks will sell online advertising within our performance-based network. Commission rate is 10% on new business (all business is new for 6 months), and 5% for accounts that have been spending for > 6months. $2M in recognized revenue is what we see from strong performers.

Interested in peoples' opinions of this structure, and would welcome discussions with folks looking for an ad sales role.

Thanks,
Brandon

Here's my response:

Hi Brandon,

I'm pretty much inclined to agree with all the folks here, with some additions. AC Lion has been placing sales people at online companies for the past 12 years (no worries, this isn't a pitch), so we've pretty much seen it all at this point. While you may be able to get folks to agree to a commission only structure, you're leaving yourself vulnerable on several points. These are some of the issues we've seen with non-standard packages.

* RETENTION: Keeping your employees will be a major issue - even the best sales people prefer some sort of guaranteed income

* COMMISSION: 10% is competitive, but probably not competitive enough to get top performers to leave jobs with $100k+ salaries and double up backends. A $2million quota translates into a $200k job, which is not that hard to get in online media sales

* CONTROL/ MANAGEMENT: An employee without a base doesn't owe you anything. They won't feel as compelled to respond to management directives, come to meetings, or show up to the office every day. Managing sales people is difficult enough, factor in lack of incentives and it could get pretty messy.

*COST OF HIRE: It's an irony of a commission only role, but definitely a reality. Cost of hire goes up. When sales people are commission only, hiring managers tend to loosen up on their hiring and are quicker to pull the trigger. Non-performers, or poor performers, calling on potential clients can end up doing more damage to your biz. High turnover for AdBrite will be noticed by clients and it will make them doubt your services.

Feel free to drop me a line to discuss in greater detail. I'd be curious to see which direction you end up going in.

Good luck on the search!

Sean
www.aclion.com

UPDATE:

Got this response from Brandon today (1/8/09) and he agreed to let me share it.

Hi Sean... I agree with all of your points. I neglected to mention in my original post that we provide a nominal monthly draw (just a bit over $2k), full healthcare coverage (employees to contribute to the monthly premium), and stock options. The package is designed to have the sales folks feel tied to the organization, but give them the autonomy and accountability to drive sales.

As for turnover, that is something we're monitoring closely. There is risk, you are correct. We're also maintaining a pretty thorough screening/interview process and not lowering our standards much as we do recognize the cost associated with bringing folks on, helping them get ramped, etc.

Thanks for your thoughts.
Bd
___________

Here are my follow up thoughts..........

Let's see what happens! :)

Keep me posted Brandon.

Our very own Managing Big Kahuna Meister; Dan Goldsmith has an article out on ' Precision Guided Resumes' in this past Wednesday's DigiDay.

Find it here: Precision Guided Resumes Part II- Visual Formatting

Here are some tasty morsels for those of you like myself who are too lazy to read entire articles. I am the facebook generation.

• Hierarchy and outline structure will lead the reader along in an effortless way. Be certain the supervisory logic is established and communicated with minimal effort on behalf of the person reading your resume.

• Be consistent in convention throughout the entire resume. If you are spelling the name of the state “New York” in one part of your resume then you’d better use “Illinois” or “Ohio” for other locations –v- Ill or Oh. Every little convention you assume must be 100% consistent bottom to top. Having read resumes for the last 8 years I can tell you that constancy and structure connote professionalism, specificity and impact and generally set the right tone.

• Consider use of indents and bullets to transition from general to specific components of each job presentation. As well a discreet use of bold and italics are easy ways to give the resume flow and contour.

• Size may not matter but balance sure does. Keep bulleted paragraphs balanced in terms of the amount of space each consumes. Resource planning is critical for the appropriate visual impact. If you dump 9 bullets on one job and only 3 bullets on another job one may be led to believe that either you’re embellishing on the 9 bullet job or simply have nothing to say about the 3 bullet job. I advise to find a medium across all of your experiences.

• Group your bullets in a consistent fashion. Perhaps the first two bullets of each job description will illuminate initiatives you were tasked with while the last few bullets will illuminate the net result of such actions.

• Test your ability to conceive and write powerful sentences and very accurate use of verbs. The most over used word in resumes seems to be “managed”. I happen to frown on this word because it really doesn’t describe, in a granular sense, exactly what it is you did. The definition of managed is “to bring about success”.

p.s. any of you going to be at SES next week? I'd love to meet up!

Interviewer: “We’re really impressed by your resume. Walk me through your background”
Job Applicant: “Honey, I’ll take out the trash later, I’m on the phone”

No, it’s not a scene from The Office. Nor is it a weird dream sequence from an old Woody Allen movie. This is real life—as heard from the interviewer’s side of the proverbial table.

Have to say, I just don’t get it. Why don’t people take phone interviews seriously? Do they really think I can’t hear them eating on the phone, giving directions in the car, typing at their keyboard? Don’t they realize that they won’t get a ‘real’ interview if they can’t make it through a phone one?

These days, more and more initial interviews are taking place by phone—and not taking it seriously can hold you back. So, here is Bonnie’s Top 10 Keys to Acing the Phone Screen. Use them and you’ll be the one called back for the next interview.

10. Be prepared. Yeah, you may not be a Boy Scout, but you never get a second chance to make a first impression. This is an interview—blow it and you won’t get the job.
9. Use a good phone connection. You may be perfect for the job but the interviewer won’t know it if s/he can’t hear you.
8. Stand up and smile. As I learned from a sales pro, “Motion brings Emotion.” And without face to face contact, you need that emotion even more.
7. Yes, it’s a real interview. Be prepared to answer real questions.
6. Yes, it’s a real interview. Be prepared to ASK perceptive questions.
5. Know how you come across on the phone. One trick is to call your own voice mail and leave yourself a message. Wait 24 hours and then listen to yourself. You’ll be amazed at what you hear.
4. No dogs, driving or other distractions!
3. Find the quietest spot possible—and use it for the phone call. And get there 5 minutes early, ready to talk.
2. Basic rule of thumb: If you wouldn’t do it during a face to face interview, don’t even think of doing it during a phone interview.
1. Have a winning story on tap to start the call—tell a story that will engage the listener, showcase your skills and let your personality shine.

Bonnie Zaben, COO of AC Lion, has conducted more phone interviews than she can count.

Ten Most Common Resume Goofs
Alesia Benedict, CPRW, JCTC.

1. Email Errors

One of the most common goofs we see is an incorrect email address. Since most job search efforts are centered around email communications, having an email address that is wrong or difficult to interpret can be a pothole in the road to success. Double-check your email address to make sure it is correct. Don’t use your work email address on your resume and try to avoid having an email that has the number 1 in it as it can be difficult to tell if it’s a letter or a numeral. Avoid goofy or cutesy email monikers such as vanhalenlvr83 or similar. Email systems that use automated spam authenticators are loathed by recruiters and line managers alike, so stay away from them during you job search. Remember, you can set up an email address that you use JUST for job search.

2. Mechanical Mistakes

Misspellings are the most common mechanical mistake. People rely on spell-check too much. Spell-check can’t tell the difference, though, in meaning. If you write “manger” instead of “manager”, spell-check won’t flag it. Other mechanical problems include verb tense shift and capitalization. It seems like when in doubt, job seekers will capitalize something just “to be on the safe side” but that just creates an error.

3. Fluff Phrases

The profile or summary is often the most difficult section of the resume to create. As a result, job seekers fall back on soft-skill phrases or fluff phrases such as “good communicator” or "hard-working". These sound good but they tell the reader nothing. These are subjective traits that are opinion-based. You may think you are a good communicator but your peers might say otherwise. These traits will be judged in the interview so don’t load the resume down with these. Remember, 99.9% of all the other candidates will also be claiming these skills. Have you ever heard of anyone putting "bad communicator" or "lazy with sloppy attention to detail" on the resume?

4. Too Much Information (TMI)

Job seekers often forget for whom they are writing. The recruiter or hiring manager is going to be skim-reading the resume and will be looking for the main points. The job seeker, on the other hand, feels it’s necessary to put every bit of information possible in the resume, right down to including that Eagle Scout designation from 1984. Having too much information, or irrelevant information, is a common resume error.

5. Too Little Information (TLI)

The opposite of TMI is TLI – too little information. Being too general in the resume is just as bad as being too wordy. Usually too little information takes the form of no details on achievements. Most people can get their job duties or role descriptions down but falter when it’s time to detail their successes in some sort of quantitative or qualitative way. As a result, the content is thin or bland and doesn’t inspire the reader to make contact with the job seeker.

FREE Resume Critique
Need help with your Resume? Get a FREE Resume Critique from GetInterviews.com -- Guaranteed interviews in 30 days or they'll rewrite for free!

6. Passive Voice

We are all taught that formal writing is passive voice writing. Most people have a tendency to write in the passive voice, especially when composing their resumes. Passive voice – “responsible for”, “duties included”, etc. – is weak writing. Resumes need to be powerful sales documents and passive voice doesn’t persuade the reader. Make sure the resume is written in active voice with lots of solid keywords throughout the content.

7. Functional Format

Using the functional format (also called a skills resume) is probably the most deadly error you can commit in terms of the resume’s effectiveness. Recruiters and employers literally detest the functional format. It does not give them the information they need in the format they want. Additionally, it generally indicates that the job seeker is trying to hide something since the functional format is used to cover up problems such as date gaps, job hopping, or lack of experience. Just the mere appearance of the functional format is a huge turnoff to decision-makers.

8. Personal Information

The fact that you are an avid skeeball player, or that you collect old world coins has no relevance to whether or not you are qualified for the position. So why include information on hobbies, sports, or interests?

9. Poor Design

The old large-left-margin layout is long out of fashion and fancy designs, images or tables will really give the databases a hard time when you upload your resume. The best thing to do when it comes to design of your resume is KISS – keep it simple, sweetie. Yes, make it appealing, but over designed resumes will get scrambled in uploads, and thus not win interviews.

10. One Page Length

One page resumes are long gone unless you are a new graduate without much experience. Having said that, we still see plenty of one page resumes for more senior job seekers come in for critiques. It does surprise me! When a job seeker tries to limit the content of the resume to fit into one page, he/she is cutting vital information to adhere to a “rule” that is not valid for most resumes. Many resumes (including mid-level) are two pages in length and three pages are acceptable for some senior level candidates.

About the Author:

Alesia Benedict, Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Job and Career Transition Coach (JCTC) is the President of GetInterviews.com, the country’s leading resume writing firm. They provide professionals with customized, branded resumes and career marketing documents. Her and her firm’s credentials include being cited by JIST Publications as one of the "best resume writers in North America," quoted as a career expert in The Wall Street Journal, and published in a whopping 25+ career books. Established in 1994, the firm has aided more than 75,000 job seekers to date. All resume writers are certified writers. GetInterviews.com offers a free resume critique and their services come with a wonderful guarantee -- interviews in 30 days or they'll rewrite for free!

Visit AC Lion for our current job listings.

Job Hunters, Beware
By Sarah Needleman

There's been no shortage of warnings about the career dangers of posting racy content on sites like Facebook and Twitter. Yet many job hunters still don't heed that advice, and others don't realize they're doing just as much damage by doing things like bending the truth or spamming their résumés. Recruiters say such faux-pas can result in immediate and lasting career damage.

"You're going to be remembered—and not in a positive way," says Colleen McCreary, chief people officer for Zynga Game Network Inc., a San Francisco developer of social games including FarmVille. "Recruiters move around a lot from company to company, and that can carry on with them for a long period of time."

Ms. McCreary says candidates consistently damage their reputations by sending cover letters that disingenuously claim a specific position at the company is their dream job. With a check of Zynga's applicant-tracking system, she can see that those people submitted the same letter for several other openings, too. "They've now lost all their integrity," she says. As an alternative, she recommends that job hunters write about the two or three positions they're most qualified for in a single letter.

Job hunters also regularly flub by submitting their résumés to multiple recruiters and hiring managers at a single firm. "What they're doing is a huge turn off because it sucks up a lot of time for people," says Ms. McCreary.

Likewise, job hunters repeatedly derail their chances by applying for positions for which they don't even meet the basic requirements.

"There are a few people out there who seem to see it fit to apply to every job we ever post," says Dan Goldsmith, a managing partner at AC Lion, an executive-search firm in New York. "Those people just go right in the trash folder."

There are also job hunters who repeatedly send the same recruiters their résumés year after year, which can give the impression that they're desperate or a job hopper, adds Mr. Goldsmith.

Liars make up another category of memorable job hunters. "People will say they graduated from [a] school and you find out from looking online that... they just took a course," says Ms. McCreary.

Executive recruiter Russ Riendeau says he checks candidates' résumés against their LinkedIn profiles and often discovers discrepancies. "It's helping me assess whether candidate is indeed who they say they are," says Mr. Riendeau, a partner at East Wing Group, a search firm in Barrington, Ill. Résumés should tell a candidate's full story, he says.

Meanwhile, many job hunters are also continuing to overlook the dangers of posting provocative photos and other dubious content on social-media sites. Case in point: Recruiter Lori Fenstermaker says she lost interest in a recent candidate for a legal-assistant job after finding her raunchy MySpace profile. "She represented herself in a way that would not align with the company's philosophy and ethics," says Ms. Fenstermaker, founder of Automatic LLC, a search firm in Grand Rapids, Mich. "Anything someone publishes online could knock a person out of the running per se."

There are also some job hunters who are unwittingly going out of their way to spoil their prospects.

Last year, a candidate for a senior client-services position invited Mr. Goldsmith to be part of his Facebook network. After accepting, the recruiter found a semi-nude photo of the candidate, prompting Mr. Goldsmith to withdraw this person from consideration. "It was so horribly inappropriate," the recruiter recalls. "To flaunt that with such a lack of sensitivity to professional decorum is very disquieting."

Click here to view the article Wall Street Journal