EditorialsBy Matt Bud, Chairman, The FENG

I realize that on days when the newsletter thins, there is the temptation to “click and shoot” all of the remotely possible postings that appear. Please don’t. One of the core values of The FENG is that we don’t respond to postings unless we are a good fit. Very simply put, if you wouldn’t hire you for the job, resist the temptation to buy a lottery ticket and submit your credentials. The thing to keep in mind when there are lots of folks out of work is that any posting that has specific requirements (beyond your having a pulse) is going to get lots and lots of appropriate responses. The role of the recruiter is to identify those candidates who [ Read more… ]

The world is actually built on a series of personal relationships. The truth of this statement was brought home to me many times during my near decade in the Advertising business, and subsequent to that from my experiences during my job search in trying to get to know people in the Venture Capital and Search business. It is hard to get people to trust you when their income depends on who they introduce to whom. From 1997 to just before the recession that began in 2001, I worked the search community one recruiter at a time to sell The FENG as a resource. Unfortunately, recruiters don’t talk much to each other. And, even within firms, they pretty much run an [ Read more… ]

As I am sure all of you know, one of your responsibilities as a member is, to the best of your ability, to only respond to job postings when you are reasonably qualified. The greatest majority of job postings in our newsletter come your way through the good offices of your fellow members. If they are posted under my name, they are the result of our organization’s great reputation. (Your esteemed Chairman, in his role as official silver tongued devil of The FENG, may also have very recently extolled the significant benefits of becoming a “Friend of The FENG” upon these very fortunate members of the search community. Just as “birds of a feather flock together,” recruiters tend to specialize. [ Read more… ]

There is a great deal of fuss made out in “the world” about the difference between retained and contingency recruiters. If you want a full discussion about their differences and differing motivations, a very good source is “Rites of Passage” by John Lucht. All recruiters handle jobs in which you might have interest. And, when they appear in our newsletter under someone’s name, you should give it your best shot by writing a proper cover letter and perhaps even customizing your resume to a degree. You see, when you are responding to a job lead handled by either group, you are in a competition. Unlike networking where you may be the only candidate, this opportunity has been exposed to a [ Read more… ]

Although there are NO job leads in tonight’s newsletter, one of the very important issues facing us as an organization is the “care and feeding” of our many friends in the search community. (Even before COVID-19 there weren’t many left.) While studies have shown that only about 15% of the jobs in this country are handled by recruiters, to me they are still an important audience for us to treat with respect. And yes, they have feelings too. (I will let you guess how the other 85% are filled. Okay, I’ll tell you: Networking, networking and more networking.) Our first rule as an organization is that any job posted in our newsletter is to be responded by “qualified members only” [ Read more… ]

I got a note a few years ago from one of our members asking how to manage his relationship with search firms and the points I made to him then are then are still relevant now. The first thing I would point out to everyone is that the search business isn’t what it used to be. (But then, what is?) I would suggest that there honestly aren’t a lot of searches currently going on anywhere in America, hence the brevity of our newsletter most days. When there are a lot of searches out in the market, my phone here at world headquarters rings non-stop, and the past few years it has been more like a library atmosphere. That said, there [ Read more… ]

There are so many urban legends associated with job search that I generally don’t know where to start when I talk to new members. Since I get calls every week from members of the search community, I thought I would take a few minutes tonight and discuss the reality of your resume being on file with a particular recruiter. First of all, it is very easy these days to blast your resume out to lots of recruiters. Even if you lack a mail merge program such as the one I use to send out the newsletter, sending out a few hundred resumes by email is no big deal. Anyone can do it, and lots of people do. You can even [ Read more… ]

I don’t know if all of you know it, but I started my career in retailing at B. Altman & Company, one of the old line “Carriage Trade” retailers in New York City, and an interesting place to be sure. To be successful in this retailing segment you had to treat your customers’ right. All merchandise was returnable, and to the amazement of this Internal Auditor at the time, was accepted for full credit even when sometimes it hadn’t been purchased in the store. It is this “the customer is always right” attitude that I try to apply in The FENG to our many audiences. If there is something we are “doing” to one another or to some group outside [ Read more… ]

After “I love you,” “thank you” is probably the next thing no one hears enough. The subject, I am going to discuss tonight could also be called common courtesy, or common courtesies. I know that everyone who is active in their search is very busy, but so are those who are sharing their valuable business connections. If you haven’t fully noticed, I never miss an opportunity to thank those who provide editorial material AND I always encourage those members who are in the mood to “pile on” by adding their own thanks and comments for someone taking the time to share a big idea with us. It takes time to write, and your thank you notes encourage them to write [ Read more… ]

Several years ago I received a phone call from a long standing Friend of The FENG. This particular search firm posted with us on a regular basis. In this case, the posting included the name of their client. You see, they felt that the relationship they had with The FENG was so strong and their confidence in us so high that they could provide this information and not get hurt. Unfortunately, they were wrong. Several of our members decided that they knew best and submitted their credentials directly to this search firm’s client. Not smart. Not only had they most likely eliminated any chance of their being considered for this relatively high paying job, but they had also embarrassed the [ Read more… ]

One of our very most important audiences are members of the search community who are registered as Friends of The FENG. When you communicate with these folks, briefly, you are expected to behave yourself. Members of The FENG are expected to only respond when reasonably qualified. What does this mean? If you wouldn’t hire you for the job in question, don’t respond. Job leads are unfortunately a beauty contest of sorts. With all the well qualified people who are out there in the world, the candidate pool is deep. Let me give you a recruiter’s perspective on how one might go through a pile of resumes. The first criteria is industry. Hopefully you have put a one line descriptor after [ Read more… ]

The world is actually built on a series of personal relationships. The truth of this statement was brought home to me many times during my near decade in the Advertising business, and subsequent to that from my experiences during my job search in trying to get to know people in the Venture Capital and Search business. It is hard to get people to trust you when their income depends on who they introduce to whom. From 1997 to just before the recession that began in 2001, I worked the search community one recruiter at a time to sell The FENG as a resource. Unfortunately, recruiters don’t talk much to each other. And, even within firms, they pretty much run an [ Read more… ]

There is a great deal of fuss made out in “the world” about the difference between retained and contingency recruiters. If you want a full discussion about their differences and differing motivations, a very good source is “Rites of Passage” by John Lucht. The link to RiteSite.com appears every day in our newsletter if you would like to order this book. All recruiters handle jobs in which you might have interest. And, when they appear in our newsletter under someone’s name, you should give it your best shot by writing a proper cover letter and perhaps even customizing your resume to a degree. You see, when you are responding to a job lead handled by either group, you are in [ Read more… ]

There was an article in The Wall Street Journal several years ago that made the following points: 1. The unemployed are damaged goods 2. Recruiters prefer finding those who are not actively seeking new jobs 3. Networking groups are of little value While to a degree I hesitate to take exception with this esteemed periodical, I must point out that the first two issues are not news. Anyone who has read John Lucht’s book “Rites of Passage” would already know that recruiters have an inherent prejudice against those who are unemployed and are generally speaking charged with stealing someone from a competitor. That’s why they get the “big bucks.” Hence, those who are unemployed are not really of interest because [ Read more… ]

I suppose that at times being a member of the runaway train we call The FENG would appear not to lend itself to a whole lot of warm fuzzies. Ah, if only we could return to those halcyon days when there were only 50 of us and on a good day 15 of us would gather around that small table in the Westport library and discuss jobs we heard about. Friends, although this sounds good, I don’t want to go back. (Besides, we can’t.) Sure we are a whole lot bigger these days, but like love, sharing the warmth of our friendships with more and more people is INCREASING the warm fuzzies, not the reverse. Back in those DARK days [ Read more… ]

Although I always hope that EVERYONE in The FENG will have a job some day, (And, all at the same time.) I know this is not possible. Still, my sense is that more of our members are working these days than not.   Because of the high percentage of you that are working and because our networking group has been around for a long time, I fear that in certain parts of the country, attendance at our meetings has fallen off.   I wonder if I could ask those of you who are working at the moment to make a special effort this month to reconnect with your local chapter. The holiday season is a great time to meet old [ Read more… ]