Looking for Jobs on LinkedIn - DANGER!

Here's a big, complex, set of rules to follow from JobMob if you look for jobs on LinkedIn

LinkedIn has been built as a social network to share all your activities with those you know (and those you don't in some cases!)

Recruiters track your activites using tools such as :

• http://www.jobchangenotifier.com/ 
• Bullhorn Reach Radar

.. and call candidates who look like they are updating their profiles for a move

Want more discretion in your dealings with recruiters?

Take a look at secretstatus.com ..

Should Recruiters Put Down the Phone?

Does your phone appear to be broken….

I’m sure that many of you would agree with me that nowadays the call-to-hit ratio (i.e., the chances of actually speaking to the candidate whose number you are dialling) is very low indeed.  I would say that you are lucky to speak to one person out of every ten you call.

In this brave new digital world, have we evolved to the stage that we no longer wish to communicate with our mouths, but rather with our fingers? Have we become too scared to pick up the phone and actually speak directly to a stranger?  Or, just like that famous joke (“nobody drives in London – there’s too much traffic!”), is it quite simply that as volumes of sales calls have increased, people are fed up with constantly taking calls and just leave their phones to ring out?

In a brief 5 minute phone call with an applicant we can expect to have a conversation that, if transcribed, would average at around 750 words.  I could only manage to type 250 words in that time – only a third of the information that would be transmitted in a phone call, and it is all one-sided. I would miss out on the opportunity to listen and respond to what the applicant is saying; lose the personal touch and leave myself wide open to being misconstrued, as tone doesn’t translate well to email.

So how will you make these connections? It can also be said that people not only screen their calls very closely these days but also their emails. Furthermore people pay little attention to LinkedIn requests or emails simply as a result of the volume.  

Well we believe we have the answer for you. A system that will not only allow you to stay in constant contact with potential candidates but it will ensure you are only contacting candidates interested in a role. It saves recruiters time and prevents candidates being contacted who have no desire to alter their current professional position. 

More details can be found here http://www.secretstatus.com/
Follow us @SecretStatusApp and fire away with any questions. We are also on Facebook.

(Source @UndercoverRec http://theundercoverrecruiter.com)

SecretStatus Infographic

Form Over Function

We're still looking for someone to help us with design duties but we're slowly figuring out ways to get our message out to people.. 

SecretStatus Infographic

Our draft FAQ

Why SecretStatus, I already use LinkedIn?

We give you control over who contacts you, and when. 

We can notify recruiters on all your networks/over email that you are (un)available

How do you make money?

We charge recruiters a small fee to have access to the status that candidates wish them to see

(link to pricing)

How does SecretStatus improve the candidate experience?

Collectively our candidates let us track who are the most trusted recruiters, rewarding recruiters that deliver a better candidate experience, and making it harder for the cowboys to operate. We also feedback anonymous statistics on recruiters that have been barred, so that recruitment companies know when they are alienating candidates, but without the public embarrassment!

How does SecretStatus reduce cold calls?

Recruiters have databases of names, but don't know who is available. They hire 'resourcers' to send bulk emails and make cold calls to check availability. SecretStatus now gives recruiters an up-to-date database of availability, so they can prioritise calling candidates who actually want work! 

If you are cold-called you can now tell the recruiter, "Ill add you on SecretStatus, you will be notified when Im available, you no longer need to cold call me"

I want to stay off the radar

The only way a recruiter will be told about you is if you add them, or if they are searching for you.

See #Contact Details

Who can see my status?

Only recruiters that have been vetted as genuine by SecretStatus are allowed on the system.

Only recruiters you have chosen as trusted will see your SecretStatus, everyone else will see your Public Status

See #Contact Details

Contact Details

We dont share your contact details with people unless you have said that you are open to offers from them.

All notifications are sent from notifications@secretstatus.com 

Only share what you want :

• Email
• Social Network Profile Links (LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.)
• Telephone

If you share your telephone you can set callback times/days that are appropriate for you to avoid embarassment at work

Secret Status moves into Beta Testing

We're happy to be working one to one on our third iteration of the product with customers.

We've learned a huge amount about what was missing from the relationship with the customer and tried to address these points directly. They were really simple things, eg.

• What does it do !? 
• I dont want to give you my password (we never see it anyway)
• How do I login!?
• Where can I find more information ? 

These are sophisticated people who simple were unable to follow/read the written instructions!

It would appear Steve Jobs is right! People don't read anymore

Once you learn this, there's no point fighting it, you just build to it...

Here's a screenshot of where we are at:

SecretStatus is for Superstar Technical Specialists

People instantly think of computer-based jobs when they read Technical Specialists, but this also includes lots of other roles..

Here are a list of just some of the people that can benefit:

• Oil contractors, especially having seen a 30% increase in contract rates last year
• Top lawyers, as you can see from our other post
• Locum Doctors
• Hardware speciailists
• Engineers

When you become an expert (lets say 6 years+ with a skill) you are probed constantly by people eager to find out if you are looking. It's a waste of everyone's time, especially if you're definitely not looking!

That's why we are there heartbeating your availability (or lack of) out regularly to an audience you can closely control. Even adding a secret status, only visible to your trusted recruiters, to separate the wheat from the chaff.

A PSL (Preferred Supplier List) is a list of recruitment companies that a company is willing to work with, the ones they deem decent. SecretStatus gives top candidates the ability to have their own PSL and open up more to recruiters who have "made the grade"

Harvey Nash chooses The City as HQ

More evidence that London is the international hub where people want to run their recruitment businesses..

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-business/article-24036182-harvey-nash-choses-the-city-as-its-global-hq.do

Their reasons?

• The UK's pool of talent, including attracting graduates from the Far East and Asia
• Silicon Roundabout and the growth of high-tech facilities around the edges of the City
• Business-friendly attitudes from the Government and the Mayor's office
• The UK's competitive position in terms of its geographical position
• The iconic nature of Heron Tower and its green credentials

We look forward to signing them up..

Reply-to-all Recruiter Fail

Oops, some poor soul sent a mail out asking 200 people if they are looking but used CC instead BCC....

http://www.rollonfriday.com/TheNews/EuropeNews/tabid/58/Id/1823/fromTab/36/Default.aspx

..leaving lots of lawyers embarrassed and looking like they are looking for work!

Yet another reason why the current processes are broken, and something new needs building...

What is SecretStatus?

Not sure what we're about?

How does this splash screen work for you? 

We like it but it makes us sound like we're against head-hunters, far from it. We feel for them having to work through their hopelessly out of date database on the off chance they find someone talented who is actually looking or up for a move. It really is needle in haystack work.

If you're better than average at what you do, our site is for you.. whether you're a candidate or a recruiter..

Recruiters

The best recruiters already have trusted relationships / mutual respect with the key players but can never be sure if they are in the loop if they want to open to a move.

With our tool recruiters that already have a large trusted network will start to see massive amounts of intelligence, happier candidates and cost savings immediately (less ATS/researching costs)

Hollywood Stars (Candidates)

The best candidates drown in job offers and are called at the most inappropriate times. They also rely heavily on trusted relationships with the best recruiters.

They want to apply The Hollywood Principle..

"Don't call us, we'll call you"

Confidentiality Report

More evidence from a recent report that the current way of working is not dealing with people's concerns around privacy.

Who will do something about it first!?