Do Companies that run ads (Newspaper, Web Postings, etc.) Also work with The Regency Group, Ltd.?
Should you Response to Ads in the Newspaper, on the Web, etc.?
Going to a Job Fair, and leaving your resume. What you should do.
Should you only rely on The Regency Group, Ltd. in your Job Search?
What format your Resume should be in, and what we do with Your Resume?
Should you send a Thank-You letter after a Face-to-Face Interview?
Receive weekly e-mail notification of updates to The Regency Group, Ltd., Manufacturing & Engineering Position Listings!
Receive weekly e-mail notification of updates to The Regency Group, Ltd., Information Technology & Other Position Listings!
Working with and through The Regency Group, Ltd., gives you a distinct advantage!
All contact is kept in strict confidence, so you can comfortably review your options without risk. We are not part of a network which allows others to access your identity/information; your identity will never be shared with anyone, without your advance knowledge and consent.
We provide you access to valuable information and a wide variety of services. Our website allows you to review the latest positions which our clients are actively seeking to fill, and our suggestions on resume preparation, interviewing strategies, insight into various companies and their personnel, resignation counseling, Thank You letters, and much more!
We'll work with you and the client company through the entire process in an attempt to get you the best possible offer. And when the offer is made, we'll make sure that you have all the facts you need to make an informed decision.
You don't have to worry about negotiating the salary. That's our job, and it's one that we do very well! Salary discussions are held periodically with the client and primarily after the interviewing process has established your "value" to the client company. Offers have been presented to candidates that surpassed the salary range established at the beginning of the search, based on that established "value."
All of our fees are paid by the client company, and most often, they are quite happy to pay them. Most of our clients initiate the search by contacting us!
Recent articles on this subject have appeared in a variety of media reports, and the consensus seems to be: allow one month for each $10K of salary you are earning ($40K = 4 months, $60K = 6 months).
While this is only an "estimate" of the time allowed, it is generally accurate if you DON'T factor in any of the following:
In the past 10+ years, we have worked with most area companies in providing them with qualified, competent professionals to meet their various staffing needs. Many of those companies remain active clients of The Regency Group, Ltd. today. Our client companies not only rely on us to provide them with candidates qualified for positions they are actively seeking to fill, but also to keep them aware of talented people who could make a contribution to their company regardless of whether an opening exists.
PROBABLY! Most companies utilize the Want Ads section, their own Corporate Website, Web Postings, Career Fairs, etc. as a complement to their internal search efforts. They use search and recruiting firms such as The Regency Group, Ltd. for similar but expanded purposes. Not only do we complement their own efforts, we dramatically expand the talent pool to which they have access, as many candidates we work with aren't even reading the want ads, or surfing the web. And we actively recruit candidates for their consideration, not relying only on candidate-generated responses. This brings to the Client Company a broader resource of skilled, stable talent not just looking for a job, but instead seeking an opportunity, which parallels their professional goals. These types of “matches" have resulted in long-term mutually beneficial employment relationships. Our clients appreciate this access to the entire talent pool, rather than just the actively looking segment.
Many Hiring Officials opt to engage The Regency Group, Ltd. in their search efforts, because we are specialized. They know that we'll provide them with qualified, competent, and validated professionals in a timely manner, that they can seriously consider for their staffing needs. They also rely on information about candidates, which we provide, that isn't available on a resume. They look to The Regency Group, Ltd. for far more than "resume flow."
People who do respond to want ads, web postings, and job boards should realize that many such responses are handled automatically often without anyone actually reviewing that information. Your information is categorized into a larger database containing responses from prior postings as well. This "resume flow" creates an enormous database of mixed talent, which is then reviewed by support personnel in an attempt to identify qualified individuals. The key in such instances is often the technical awareness and competency of the support person reviewing the database, the search criteria entered, etc. That person oftentimes is a generalist, and not focused in a specific area of specialization. Those that pass this evaluation are then routed on to the Hiring Official for consideration.
IF you would like to draw on our expertise, industry awareness, and established client relationships, you should use care in where you or others send your resume. That's because wherever you or someone else on your behalf sends a resume, we cannot present you for consideration for ANY position with that company for ONE YEAR! Please maintain a list of where you or someone else has sent your resume to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort.
Several articles have appeared in local and national newspapers of late on this topic, and there is a difference of opinion. Those that advocate responding to want ads, or even sending resumes en masse to companies, focus on having a dynamic, "grab 'em" type of cover letter and a finely tuned resume. That's all well and fine, if that paperwork gets to someone who is in a hiring position.
Our experience has been that sending resumes/cover letters in response to want ads or its electronic counterpart, the Online Job Sites is a shot in the dark! We have placed numerous candidates who had earlier received a "thanks but no thanks" letter from the client! How? By speaking directly to the person doing the hiring and spotlighting that person, sharing with the manager a person's skills which we have validated and answering direct questions about that person's experience, interests and abilities. That's what caused the hiring manager to schedule an interview, not the resume!
You should also be aware that sending a resume in response to a want ad or Web Job Posting often prevents us from working with you relative to that company for ANY POSITION with that company, for one full year. Many companies have a standard policy that if a resume is sent directly to them, they will not accept a referral of that candidate from any other source for one year! That applies to all positions within the company, not simply the one in response to which the resume was sent.
We have placed numerous candidates who were first considered for one position only to later be interviewed for and get offered another!
What many candidates do is contact us first, to determine if we are working a particular search for the client or have any relationship with that client, before they send a resume. We encourage you to speak with us about a specific company or opportunity prior to sending a resume directly, to avoid a conflict of effort.
This doesn't mean that you should rely solely on us. It simply means that you should communicate with us.
This is something that you may want to consider before handing your resume over randomly at any Job Fair. Why? Because when you, upon entering, hand your resume to the organizer of the Job Fair, they then either fax, email or mail it (along with everyone else's who attended the job fair) to EACH Company regardless whether or not that company has a position you would qualify for. This allows, “resume flow” into a company. Many of the Job Fairs promote that they will get your resume to X number of companies, and they probably do.
The question is, WHO in the company reviews that resume? Someone truly capable of appreciating a technical background, who can see beyond a checklist of buzz words they're attempting to match up? And, is the company even looking for a position in your area of specialization? If not, your information is put aside. And, now that you/they have presented yourself to EVERY area company, we really can't do much for you, as we can't present you to a client company (for any position) for at least six months (sometimes one year) after you or someone else has done so.
Our belief is that a resume by itself does not provide for an individual presentation of your capabilities and accomplishments, and is incapable of adequately representing anyone’s true abilities.
Much the same is true with those who have their information distributed en masse via a resume distribution service.
Absolutely not! You shouldn't rely solely on The Regency Group, Ltd., or on anyone else, except for yourself. Don't let anyone convince you to do so! However, we do suggest open communications, in order to avoid conflicts of effort.
When we have a client that would like to learn more about you, we'll get in touch with you. We welcome your occasional calls to see what's going on in the job market and your status. And, if you see a position we're working for which you'd like to be considered, do let us know. Chances are you're already being considered, but confirmation of that will eliminate any oversights.
You should only complete the forms if you are serious about being legitimately considered for positions, or about having the opportunity to review viable career options. The forms are simply our way of standardizing information to allow us to more effectively review and present your professional/technical profile. They don't leave our office. They also help us determine a person's cooperativeness and seriousness.
In addition to filling out our candidate profiles, of course, you should also send us a copy of your resume. You may mail it to The Regency Group, Ltd., at 256 North 115 Street, Suite 1, Omaha NE 68154. Alternately, you may e-mail it to DBarrow "at" regencygroup.com
First of all, we would appreciate receiving your resume as a Microsoft Word document for ease in editing. A sample format for your resume is available at
Most every resume that we receive is reformatted into our standard presentation format, which our clients have found informative and succinct. Nothing material is altered; however, often we include or highlight additional information relative to a particular client's needs. You are provided a copy of that resume prior to it being distributed to anyone, to review it for accuracy.
Your resume is NEVER sent anywhere, nor are you identified to anyone, without your advance knowledge and consent. This enables you to have full control of who has your resume.
Typically, your resume is provided to a client only after the client has expressed a sincere interest in seriously considering you for a particular position (based on conversations about "a person") AND you have expressed an interest in learning more about a particular opportunity.
We don't believe in sending your resume en masse to area companies, nor do we believe you should. Our experience, based on our relationships with clients and candidates, has been that a resume should only be provided AFTER BOTH PARTIES have expressed an interest in learning more about each other. Prior to that, sending a resume serves no meaningful purpose, as we believe that we can present your accomplishments, abilities and goals far better than what can be contained on a piece of paper.
References are becoming an increasingly important part of the interviewing and offer process! As such, the most influential and important references meet the following criteria:
In today's environment, many people are hesitant to serve as references, fearing liability for what they say. To dissuade their concern, the information that we receive from references is kept confidential between our client and us. That means you do NOT have access to this information. So, choose references that you have confidence in.
References are often asked to validate your resume (dates, times, position titles, responsibilities, technical skills, etc.). However, many times references are contacted to gain insight into your professional goals and aspirations, how you deal with certain situations or types of people, respond to certain styles, communicate with end users, etc., and only people who really know you are able to provide this information. Many times references are contacted to supplement your interview, or answer questions that came up in a post interview discussion.
So, choose your references carefully, and discuss with them in advance what may be expected or asked of them, and confirm that they will speak openly and honestly when contacted. You can assure them that we will contact them only if necessary, at a time convenient to them, and will fully respect their time. In rare instances, our client may contact them directly. In that event, we will notify them in advance of that impending contact.
There is no question! Send a thank-you letter as quickly as possible (fax or email is fine too) following a face-to-face interview. It does make a difference. It's also a great opportunity for you to reaffirm your interest and capabilities for that position. We have had candidates who were in serious contention for a position, be eliminated, because the client regarded having not received such a letter, as an indication of limited interest and lack of professionalism.
We have never had a candidate eliminated from consideration because they DID send a thank-you letter, unless it was riddled with poor grammar and misspellings.
One of the mistakes most often made by people in their search for a better opportunity is making decisions... prematurely!
We encourage all candidates to take a very simple approach to the search process. That approach is to force themselves NOT to make decisions until they have the necessary information with which to do so. We assist in keeping the focus on what decisions need to be made and when to avoid this trap which often leads to regrets.
"Am I interested in this position/company?" How would you know until you interview with the company, and learn first hand about the opportunity?
"Do I want this position?" How would you know until you receive an offer, which details the scope of responsibilities, reporting relationships, complete compensation package, and more?
You'd be surprised how many times candidates have changed their minds about decisions they attempted to make, which we didn't allow them to, because it wasn't really time to make any decision. When the time comes to make a decision we'll let you know, and then you will have to decide, but by then, you'll know, and be able to confidently and comfortably make a sound career judgment.
As far as How Soon? Our experience has been that by the time an offer is made, you already know if you want to accept it. The real question at that point is, "Does it make good business sense to do so?" You should take some time to review the details of the offer, benefits, responsibilities, etc. and discuss it with family members if need be. Presumably, much of that review would have been concluded even before the "Official Offer" is presented. As such, you should be in a position to make a decision and a professional commitment within 24-48 hours of having been presented an Offer.
Expect it! Most clients that we work with have this as a condition of employment, and require that the test be taken within 48 hours of accepting their offer! If that's going to be a problem, and you want to advance your career.... Check into a substance abuse center and rid yourself of the problem!
Very simply... LET US KNOW!
Chances are we are already considering you for the position, but please, LET US KNOW! You would be best served by ensuring that YOU ARE CONSIDERED! Whether it is a phone call, email or whatever, please contact us and let us know you saw a particular position that was of interest to you!
We diligently attempt to ensure that we don't "miss" anything, but it sometimes can happen.
Even if you're NOT actively looking to make a change, keep abreast of what's going on and contact us if you see or know of a position about which you would like to learn more.