In a recent, and very informal, survey of area recruiters and members of my professional organizations, the term "cherry picking" constantly came up when discussing placement and job search topics.

What is "cherry picking?" Cherry picking, from our consensus, is an employer being very specific with their candidate requirements. For example, if an employer is looking for a controller, they may specify that a candidate must have three to five years’ experience as a controller, possess a CPA designation, and preferably graduating from X, Y or Z school with a grade point average of 3.5 or greater. If a candidate does not match all of these criteria, they are not selected for an interview. If a candidate does meet all the criteria, they are "cherry picked" for an interview. This practice is more prevalent with firms using placement agencies, as the placement agencies charge a fee to the employer for finding the right candidate. In the words of one recruiter, "Our clients are really buckling down on who they will look at from us. They only want very top talent in order to pay a fee."

"Three to five years’ experience? I have much more experience than that, how should I go about my search?" you ask.

First, don’t discount recruiters. They are still a wonderful resource for contacts, interviews, and yes, placement. Second, in the words of one executive recruiter, "I would recommend that they (job seekers) network like champs with their acquaintances, professional organizations, past employers, recruiters, service organizations they're a part of, etc. And they should not discount the opportunities that can arise from Temp and Temp-to-Perm (contract) projects as they can lead to other permanent positions."

The contract work suggestion I found enlightening as many well-qualified job seekers with extensive work histories expect instant, permanent positions. Use the contract work to network like crazy. You never know whom someone may know and where a position could lead. I had one client take a temporary position watering plants and through networking (and lots of hard work) land a VP role with a major bank within two years. Of course this person was very qualified for the role, she just wanted to break into the company anyway she could. Another laid off executive took a temporary role with a data group of a major bank. She was extremely overqualified for the role, but through insider networking, grew quickly to a top-level position within the company. The trick is to get that foot in the door first and one way to do that is through contract work.

Another suggestion to gain entrance into a desired company? Don’t wait. Don’t wait until your severance package is used up. Don’t wait to start networking. In the words of one recruiter: "For the majority of them (job seekers) they just cannot afford the down time (and sizable gaps have been getting raised eyebrows from clients (employers))."

So, what are some of the traits recruiters and hiring decision makers look for? "Traits I'm looking for right now are strong verbal and written communication skills," said one recruiter, "People with a confident (but not arrogant) presence. They should have well-respected companies in their background. And strong software skills are a big plus as well." Additionally, strength of college programs is considered important for some key positions. That means how respected the college or university is that a job seeker has attended, and the strength of that institution's program in that particular major. According to one executive recruiter, specializing in finance, "… the school name is increasingly important. Lakeland, Concordia, Cardinal Stritch, Alverno, Keller Graduate School, etc. are viewed as weak programs. They do not stand up to Marquette, UWM, UW, other Big-10 schools, etc. And programs that are internet-driven, remote or via correspondence format are really looked down on…. Today's market really reinforces why you should go to the absolute best school you can get into. Grade point is important too, but I would say it is less so than is the school, for the majority."

For more ideas on networking, please see our articles in the Newsroom at www.knocks.com. You’ll want to review the "Preparing a Soundbite" and "Informational Interview" stories.