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How to use a GILT Job recruiter
By Denise Spacinsky,
Larsen Globalization
http://www.larseng11n.com/
Become a member of TranslationDirectory.com at just
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Keeping
your career afloat can often feel like you’re navigating
through hazardous, murky waters, especially during
times of company mergers and acquisitions, downsizing,
“right sizing,” and “offshoring.” Indeed, many things
might lead us to reinvent our careers, and we invariably
need to understand our job markets. Every career-minded
person faces this reality, and the world of localization
offers no exception.
I
recently went through a job change myself. After being
a longtime devotee and advocate of “all things globalization”
at Hewlett-Packard, I found that moving to a new city
and having a second baby brought the question of starting
a new career front and center. I looked at some of
the things I had done and at things I would like to
do, and I faced that moment of reality for myself:
where do I turn to find a new job in the localization
industry?
I
contacted the people I know, scoured job ads, and
went on a few interviews. Since I have worked as both
a vendor and a client, I had some varied perspective.
I wanted a job where I would make a difference and
where I would fit in with the culture.
I
eventually decided to use a recruitment agency, although
I was a bit apprehensive. I’ve heard regretful tales
about either getting completely ignored or getting
my unsolicited resume mass e-mailed to companies.
Lucky
for me, I happened upon a recruiting firm in the localization
space. Inger Larsen and Gretta FitzGerald are the
founders of Larsen Globalization (or rather “Globalisation”
as they say). They have been in the field for a number
of years in Europe, with interests in the US. I say
“lucky” because they asked me to join their team and
support the US market.
I
did join, of course, but had that offer not materialized,
I would have continued struggling down the dreary—
and financially straining—path of looking for new
employment. And since part of my job in this new position
is to help people through this same reality, I have
put together some ideas that can help you.
Maybe
you are someone who is on the market, or maybe you
are a hiring manager. Maybe you are a hiring manager
who is also on the market. In either case, these tips
are for you.
FIRST,
HOW IS THE MARKET FARING FOR LOCALIZATION?
Generally
speaking, about 75 percent of the vacancies we manage
are for the vendor (or supplier) side of the business.
This is easily explained: most localization activities
are outsourced to vendors by clients, and most client
companies employ people only in vital positions. So
the majority of openings in this field will be on
the vendor side.
Clients
Any
job on the client side will be attractive to for experienced
client managers and to vendors looking to hop the
fence. Generally speaking, client-side jobs pay about
10 percent more than vendor positions. Individual
contributor and mid-manager openings might find themselves
listed on the open market, but the higher ranking
positions in client-side localization are few. And
most often they are filled from within. In other words,
these jobs are competitive and coveted.
For
those who desire the client side, remember that the
grass might seem greener, but be warned—there certainly
are weeds. Even though it might seem appealing to
run the show, choose the suppliers, manage the projects,
give direction, and so forth, there is a whole dimension
of being inside an organization, trying to pull off
localization and globalization, that is particularly
challenging.
For
those of you already working on the client side, there
can come a point when you hit a ceiling, or you grow
tired of waiting for the next senior opening. In those
moments, we encourage you to look on the vendor side.
Vendors
Generally
speaking, the vendor side offers far better career
opportunities for localization and globalization professionals.
There are more complex hierarchies, more people management
opportunities, more technical and product-development
positions, and a greater variety of geographic locations
to choose from.
As
well as offering an array of permanent positions,
vendors have also started hiring contract staff. From
a recruitment point of view, we have mixed experience
with this scenario. Most candidates want the job security,
commitment, training, and career advancement typically
included with permanent positions. As a result, the
best candidates might not consider contract positions,
and the quality of candidates in the pool for contract
positions can reflect this.
There
are times, however, when all parties find a contract
situation desirable. For example, Larsen Globalization
is currently seeking contractors for a large gaming
company. To date, we have successfully placed several
people from smaller vendor companies. For these candidates,
a six- or nine-month contract with a large player
will look good on their resumes. The experience and
exposure will make it easier for them to find their
next ideal jobs.
Growth
sectors
Traditional
sectors, such as automotive, medical, and IT, are
doing as well as they ever have. They replace headcount
lost to attrition, they expand in times of growth,
but they also downsize in times of decline. This is
the normal ebb and flow of recruitment.
We
have seen large growth in the online traveling, tourism,
and interactive games industries, with expansion on
all levels, including very senior positions. We have
also seen growing demand from the financial sector.
Another
growing sector is online gambling, but they usually
hire people off the street—with the quality of their
localized sites reflecting this trend.
ADVICE
FOR JOB SEEKERS
- Know
what is out there—even if you like where you are.
At Larsen Globalization, we have many candidates
in our network who are already employed and quite
happy in their current positions. Still, they want
to know about positions that come up. They like
to know they have options. If something especially
enticing appears, they can apply at low risk. From
my point of view, this approach is always very healthy.
It was my view even before I started recruiting.
It fosters motivation and a healthy sense of possibility
and adventure. It is a good way to peek your head
up from your laptop. Chances are, you will change
jobs at some point. When you become serious about
it, being familiar with the market will give you
an advantage.
-
Stay plugged in to your professional network. Essentially,
staying plugged in means paying attention to the
people you meet at events or conferences and reading
publications to see who is writing on topics in
your field of interest. When you need to, call such
people or send an e-mail to ask for advice. Or ask
for an informational meeting or for referrals. When
approached in a respectful and appropriate manner,
most people in your network will be very glad to
help when they can.
- Update and polish your resume (résumé),
or your curriculum vitae (CV), as it’s more commonly
referred to in the recruitment arena. Tips on improving
your CV are numerous enough to become an instruction
book on their own, but the following quick points
are valuable to consider. And remember, for each
position, a vast number of CVs will be reviewed.
Usually, something pertinent needs to be known about
you in order to be considered for a position.
- Format
of your CV should be clean, clear, and easy
to scan.
-
Be informative, but not wordy
-
Include measurable, tangible information, instead
of vague characterization: We like to see things
like, “Reduced spend by 30 percent in the first
quarter.” Or “Managed a team of eight people
and a budget of $4 million.”
- Avoid
statements like, “I am a people person who likes
to multitask.”
-
Specify the kind of position you are looking
for. (Otherwise, we do not know how to pair
you with appropriate openings.)
-
At the same time, try not to be too specific.
(If you keep your options open, more opportunities
are open to you.)
Since
Larsen Globalization works across geographies (US,
London, Dublin, and Paris), we enjoy the differences
in CV content among locales. In the US, for example,
we wouldn’t consider including our marital status
or whether or not we have children. Also, we likely
wouldn’t include a picture. In the UK, a British
candidate would rarely include elaborate explanations
about how wonderful he is at everything he does,
as is the style in the US.
- Have
realistic expectations. The perfect job might not
be there at the precise time you need it. But being
connected, engaged, and proactive can only work
in your favor. Additionally, the more experienced
you are and the higher your level of expertise,
the longer it might take for you to find a new position.
Have faith, but be patient. Keeping a realistic
outlook on the process will help.
ADVICE
FOR HIRING MANAGERS
- Write
a clear, competitive job description. Our advice
is to write a job description that is clear about
the salary level and benefits. Make sure the position
sounds attractive, but not simply through an inflated
salary. Make a special effort to sell the job and
the company. Too often, we get bland job descriptions
that do not highlight the great strengths of the
organization or what it offers. Remember, you want
to attract the best candidates to your company.
You want to stand out in the industry.
- Have
realistic timeframe expectations. Hiring the right
person can take some time. It is important to be
realistic and plan accordingly. From our experience,
it typically takes two to three months to fill a
position with an optimal candidate. Some positions
can take six or more months. As we recommend with
the candidates, have faith and be patient. The right
people will find their way to you.
- Consider
the best pool for candidates. Even though we are
a recruiting firm, we do advise that companies also
look internally to fill their openings. Promoting
people from within sends out a positive message
to your employees that there are career advancement
opportunities in the organization and that you value
the talent you have.
If you can’t find anyone internally, or you
decide that you need a “fresh perspective,” there
are some tips in this area. While we find recruiting
to be great fun, it is also very hard work. For
each applicant we put forward, we typically will
have reviewed between 20 and 100 candidates. And
these are pre-qualified folks already in our database.
If you decide to do staffing independently, you
will need to focus your advertising and job postings
in the right places. And ideally, you should plan
to filter a large number of candidates.
- Consider
the best type of recruiter. If you are looking to
hire or looking to be hired, a recruiter can be
a great resource. There are different types of organizations
in the industry, so choose the type that works best
for you. Larsen Globalization is what would be considered
a specialist organization; we focus specifically
on the localization and globalization industry.
All of us have prior experience in the industry
as vendors, clients, managers, strategists, or producers.
Thus, we know the particular needs of this community,
and it works to our advantage to stay focused on
it.
There are “generalist” organizations that recruit
in this space as well. But they also recruit for
other industries, like IT or general executive
staffing. A generalist organization might have
a broader reach in more areas, which is good if
you want to cast a wide net, but be cautious of
businesses that are “CV factories.” As a candidate,
you don’t want your personal information blasted
to every company with weak mail filters. And as
a hiring organization, you will not want to have
to filter through volumes of inappropriate candidates.
IN
SUMMARY
Staffing
and recruiting is an organic process. The perfect
position or candidate can appear at any time. With
some strategic planning and advanced consideration,
you can make the process of finding a new job or adding
talent to your organization much more effective and
inviting.
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