It took a great deal of team collaboration to set up our new office white board. In the end, we made it look perfectly straight!

In 1978 the US Supreme Court ruled unconstitutial the admission process of the Medical School at the University of California at Davis. UC Davis’ process at that time set aside 16 of the 100 seats for “Blacks,” “Chicanos,” “Asians,” and “American Indians”, establishing a separate admission process for those 16 spaces.

In 2003 (Grutter v. Bollinger), the US Supreme Court ruled that race-conscious admissions processes may favor underrepresented minority groups. Since then, public universities and other public institutions of higher education are allowed to use race as a plus factor in determining whether a student should be admitted.

Over the past decades, numerous cases have been presented to the Supreme Court, with similar allegations against university admissions processes. But until present time, no ruling has been able to put a stop to allegations of reverse discrimination in university admissions processes.

The reality is that in an ideal world, race wouldn’t play a role in whether a college applicant is granted admission or not.  Unfortunately we don’t live in an ideal world.

In the most recent case Fisher v. University of Texas, UT states the need for an inclusive admissions process as a necessity to provide a diverse educational experience. The University fills the bulk of its slots with students who graduate in the top 10% of their high school class, without regard to race. And for the rest, race is not the only consideration; there are other factors such as community service, work experience, extracurricular activities, awards, etc.

Universities have understood the value of having a class that is widely diverse and represents different racial, ethnic and religious groups. But there is also a lot of pressure from those who feel they are being discriminated for not fitting in the description of a minority.

Another reality fact is that some minority groups such as blacks and Hispanics see great benefit from inclusive programs that allow them to jump from some of the worst and lowest quality education districts in the country to the top colleges and universities. This happens not only because of their racial background, but because they are high achieving students that more often than not cannot afford a college education but have an edge in applications to universities and scholarships.

This is the real purpose behind affirmative action policies: favoring the underrepresented; favoring those who, because of several reasons such as race and country of origin, were born and/or raised under disadvantaged circumstances if compared to their white peers.

What do you think? Add to the discussion by sharing your thoughts and experience with affirmative action and other diversity policies whether at school or work. Do you see it as a matter or reverse discrimination or a favor to the underrepresented?

When searching for a job, every resource counts. But more often than not, job seekers forget to take advantage of a very powerful one: alumni networks.

It’s OK if you’ve been absent from recent networking events and LinkedIn groups, your fellow alumni will always forgive. But it’s time to catch up so start cleaning your address book, LinkedIn contacts and even the ones on Facebook.

Here are a few pointers to consider and help you get a step ahead:

• Alumni associations are a great point to begin networking but it’s just the start. As Marc Cenedella of The Ladders highlights, “a job seeker is still obligated to make a genuine connection before leveraging an alumni connection for a job opportunity.”
• Just because there is an association between you and a graduate of your alma mater, it doesn’t mean this will give you a guaranteed advantage. A true connection, past the association, cannot be built overnight.
• The best way to utilize the full potential of alumni networks is being an active part of such. Sign up with your local chapter and volunteer for events, attend networking mixers, and follow up with those you meet.
• When you do happen to reach out to a fellow alum regarding an opening in their company, don’t be pushy. Ask for advice, ask for a referral to the decision maker. As Cenedella describes, “it’s mainly a matter of etiquette and tact.”
• Don’t wait until the last moment to begin networking and taking part in alumni events. If you build up recognition among the group it will be easier to reach out and ask for favors when the moment comes.

Explore the resources provided by your university such as alumni center and associations, career center, and your specific school career center. All these resources have been specifically created to help you network and more importantly, find a job. Whether you are still a student or you are unemployed, your university can help.

It happens. Sometimes you are just overqualified. Maybe you really want to join the company or you just really need the job. No matter the reason, if you are applying to a job even if your qualifications are higher than required, you can still make it work.

Employers are concerned with hiring an overqualified person, as there is a higher probability that this person will leave for a better job as soon as possible. So it is the applicant’s job to address this and explain why you are truly interested in the opportunity and how you can deliver and commit to a long stay.

More than just too much experience

Before jumping into application mode, consider that hiring managers might label you as overqualified for different reasons. Aside from having too many years of experience it can also be that you’ve had too much education, or are too highly paid in a current or previous job.

As Dr. Randall Hansen founder of Quintessential Careers describes: “Overqualified is code for ‘will not fit the current position’ – and be forewarned that it is a difficult label to overcome.”

Hansen offers 10 specific tactics to overcome the overqualified label.

1. Let your network speak for you. Find someone within the organization and ask them for a referral to the hiring manager.
2. Focus more on skills and accomplishments than job titles. Optimize your resume using the employers own words from the job description.
3. Take salary off the table. Make it clear that you are completely flexible about salary.
4. Reveal financial advantages of hiring you.
5. Emphasize teamwork and personality.
6. Showcase current or cutting-edge knowledge. Discuss recent training or courses that show that you are up-to-date.
7. Demonstrate loyalty. Point to your longevity with previous employers.
8. Do what it takes to get the interview. Be prepared to deal with the overqualified concerns.
9. Everything in moderation. Illustrate how you are the perfect candidate for the position without overwhelming the hiring manager.
10. Express interest, admiration and enthusiasm. A positive attitude and passion for the job go a long way.

Most importantly, make a deep analysis of our personal reasons for taking on a job that may require less of you. Be honest in the analysis and be honest with the potential employer.

Applying for jobs is definitely exhausting. The percentage of job seekers who search for and apply to jobs online is increasing, making the hiring manager’s and recruiter’s jobs much more difficult.

And as an applicant, if you don’t know anyone at the company or can’t find a way to connect with their recruiters, it becomes much tougher and probably your resume will just go into an applicant tracking system. Hiring managers or recruiters will use this system to, maybe, if lucky, find you. And the only way this will happen is if your resume fits what they are looking for; more specifically, the keywords they are using to search for the right-fitted candidates.

An applicant tracking system, or a simple database, facilitates the work of going over resumes one by one. But it isn’t fool proof. Recruiters might be missing out on great talent that just didn’t word their resumes properly. So, as Chris Perry of Career Rocketeer describes, “you could be the perfect candidate, having all of the right experience, education, and skills for specific job, but not even get considered by the employer due to the poor positioning of your resume in the database search results.”

Optimizing your resume is the first step to up your chances. Just as SEO is used to increase a website’s visibility in search engine results, it can also be applied to your resume.

Perry offers some tips to begin the optimization:

• Scan the company’s website and the job description that you wish to apply to. Search and identify potential keywords and phrases. When doing this, identify the essential skills and experience elements in the job posting, as usually these are the keywords used to match with applicants’ resumes. “Stand in the employers’ shoes and write down what you think they will be searching for when hunting through their database of candidates.”
• Go over your resume and work the keywords into the relevant parts. Change words and phrases that can be better described using the keywords you identified in the job description.
• Search for synonyms and abbreviations and use them. Using both Chief Technology Officer and CTO is best, as a recruiter might search for one or both versions.
• Don’t overuse “soft skill” terms such as teamwork, attitude, enthusiasm, etc., as they are rarely used in searches.
• Create a master resume that you can edit in response to the specific jobs you will apply to. Your resume should reflect what the employer is looking for, so this requires for you to use appropriate language and terminology.

One good tool is this list of Top 100 Recruiter Search Words that The Ladders updates every week. It’s a good resource to analyze and to get an idea of how recruiters phrase their keyword searches.

Just keep in mind that all keywords added must be relevant and most importantly accurate. Your resume must reflect your true skills, education and experience. Don’t waste time applying for jobs that don’t fit your profile. Focus on what is attainable, but don’t be afraid to reach out to your dream companies as well. Demonstrate your willingness to learn, and your creativity in finding ways to get your foot in the door.

A new year means new opportunities for change; for success and failure.

The HR landscape keeps evolving, and this year we predict that the following trends will set the stage for HR executives:

Engagement

HR executives have understood the importance of engaging talent from the start. This means we’ll see better career websites with optimized application processes. Social media will play and essential role in building engagement, as companies understand that audiences view them through a 360° lens and every channel is an opportunity to make an impact. Engagement plays a crucial role in attracting and retaining top talent, and for this reason it will become a priority this year.

Corporate culture

Company executives must revise the organizational culture and understand if it is being communicated explicitly and implicitly in the proper way and with adequate messages. A company’s culture must reflec what it’s all about but also what it wants to be, and what it expects from employees. It must be aligned with the kind of employees the organization is looking for, as only the proper culture can attract and, most importantly, retain the proper applicant.

Millenials are much more concerened with personal alignment with a company’s brand than their parents were when searching for their first job. For this reason, companies and particularly hiring managers must assess candidates with the proper questions to understand if there is a cultural fit because a lack of it can result in demotivated work, poor job performance, or even resignation.

Work-life balance

It continues to be a buzz term, but still very much a difficult area to tackle. HR must continue to analyze and explore the best initiatives to achieve a healthy life at work and after work. A fist step could be to help workers star the year with a stress-free approach. Read this article by Teresa Hopke, Senior VP of Life Meets Work, for some ideas on how to make this possible.

Rewards programs

Rewards programs are usually implemented as work-life balance initiatives. And over the last couple of years, the offerings in this category have grown with companies providing services that help organizations manage rewards programs in an easy way with a minor investment. HR executives must search for the best alternative that fits company needs. Some of the services out there include Loyalyworks and Globoforce.

2012 has been a great year for us at Creative Solutions Services. Our recruiters have done a great job at finding the best talent for our clients. It’s not always easy, but the science/art of recruiting is capable of bringing great satisfaction not only to us as a staffing firm but also to our candidates who are matched to a great job opportunity, as well as to our clients who benefit from the talent of new employees.

The following is an overview on some of the lessons learned during 2012:

• Recruiting is not about matching keywords. To find the suiting candidate, there are other aspects that must be considered. The most relevant one is culture fit.
• If a candidate doesn’t fit the culture of the client organization, he or she is more likely to quit in the short term.
• Being a good recruiter requires knowledge and perseverance. But perseverance is 80% of the formula.
• Staffing for MSP programs requires an understanding of the model. The key 2012 lessons on MSP staffing are:
• Abide by the rules
• Establish good professional relationships with program managers that foster communication
• Track stats on program performance to make projections and identify points of weakness
• Give hard to fill positions a try
• Advise your candidates that, if selected, they will undergo a background check. If a drug test is needed, make it clear that it is a requirement to be hired.
• Get this in writing. But even writing doesn’t guarantee that they will accept to take a drug test, so speak to your candidate and understand if there will be any resistance.
• Beware of too many discrepancies on a background check report. Communicate with the candidate to understand if there were mistakes reporting the information or just plain lies.
• Keep key contacts on speed dial: program managers and background screening companies.
• Consistent and prompt communication is key to achieving better results. But don’t overdo it.
• Build open communication channels with candidates, eager job seekers, and successful placements.
• Gather feedback from placements as to how they felt while working with you on the position and what you could do better.

For a great 2013 to come and the lessons the new year will bring!

The beginning of new cycles is always a good excuse to make big changes in your life. Whether it’s your personal or professional life, things can always be better.

Finding a job where you are happy and fulfilled is one of the most common wishes for the start of a new year. It’s hard to stick with the purpose when job searching is so time consuming and your busy life might easily deterred you from the goal. So, for most employees, this means that they will close the New Year in the same spot where they started it, most likely at one that doesn’t fulfill them.

For you, it’s time to take action. If you are not happy where you are at, start looking outside the boundaries. First, take a deep breath and be aware that the process won’t be easy but the results may well be worth the try.  Second, ask yourself the many questions needed to be answered before taking action. Here’s just a few of them that can guide you towards a change plan:

• What is your biggest passion?
• What would you do in your career if you could do anything?
• What is not satisfying you of your current job?
• What characteristics should your next job have in order for it to be satisfying for you?

Dive deep inside yourself and your thoughts and emotions towards your career. Before drafting an action plan it’s critical to understand yourself. Once that analysis is set, move forward by writing down an action plan, divided in week by week strategies that can get you closer to where you want to be. Maybe you will discover during your introspective analysis that you don’t need to change companies to have what you want, but rather you need to change your role, or approach to work, or even departments. Whatever your analysis brings up, go with it and stick to a plan that can move you closer to fulfilling your career dreams.

And may the New Year bring much deserved success and fulfillment!

Read our white paper on Diversity in the Workplace, in which we’ve gathered insights from different studies that show the benefits, impact and characteristics of a diverse workplace.

This literature review focuses on multiple topics: definitions of diversity, statistics on demographic groups in labor force, effects of diversity on productivity and cohesion, managing diverse teams, and lastly initiatives and programs that can be taken to promote diversity.

Download it here