The 360 Podcast with Dean Kulaweera

As a Job Seeker, you'll probably come across job descriptions for roles which interest you, which list a ridiculously laundry list of requirements which may seem impossible to meet. Should you even bother replying? If there's one thing I've experienced as a Recruiter working in the Staffing/Recruitment Industry, its that the "official" job description rarely tells the full story about a job opport...

If you live in any major city in North America - or anywhere in the world for that matter - you've probably heard about various job/career fairs occurring in your city. But are such events worth attending? Are they worth the time? I've spoken to many candidates over the years who've provided mix feedback. Some have told me they had a great, positive experience. Other, not so much. The reality is:...

There's a lot of advice out there regarding the job search, and all those various factors within conducting a successful job search. The bad news is, this can lead to a lot of confusion regarding whose advice to take. Its your responsibility as a job seeker to ensure you evaluate your sources to ensure the advice is applicable to you and that's its advice you should take - this applies to any advi...

In order to make the most of working with a Recruiter, you need to understand the benefits that a Staffing Agency can provide to you as a candidate, and maintaining that relationship with your key recruiter contracts. I discuss some tips and strategies in doing so in today's episode.

"Why aren't I able to get a job?". I get asked this question a lot from job seekers. One of the first exercises I advise most candidates do is to take note of these 3 key metrics I discuss in today's episode to help identify at which segment of their job search process, some kind of barrier or block may be occurring. It won't provide you with an immediate solution or answer - what this exercise wi...

Do you follow-up after your interviews or just during your job search in general? Follow-up is a very important factor to incorporate during your job search. Not every follow-up contact will prove successful however - it needs to be repeatedly, consistently, and with some creativity sprinkled in as well. In today's episode, I discuss 4 reasons why follow-up is an important strategy YOU need to uti...

As an organization, if you want to get a really good overview of the available talent in the market - you need to consider both the active and passive talent market. Most organizations go after the "active" talent market which actually represents a smaller portion of the overall talent market. If you want to ensure you have a full view, you need to also consider "passive" talent as well. In today'...

During the course of your job search, as a job seeker, you will come into contact with Staffing Agencies. Working with a Recruiter at an Agency can be a great way to get yourself in front of organizations you're interested in working for. In today's episode I cover 7 important tips to prepare for your meeting with the Staffing Agency so you can make the most of it.

Are you REALLY giving candidates a fair shot when you interview them? I was inspired to record this episode when I was thinking back to an interview I attended as a candidate a few years back and I noticed the interviewer didn't like me like RIGHT AWAY. And although I was well-prepared, nothing I said or did mattered. You are certainly not obligated to put an offer letter in front of every candida...

As a Recruiter working at a Staffing Agency, I get far less incoming communication over the phone than I do via email/social media from job seekers. So, using the phone to call in and introduce yourself to a Staffing Agency can really put you at an advantage when it comes to getting into communication with a Recruiter at an Agency. In today's episode I cover WHY this is a strategy you need to empl...

If you're looking for top talent and have an offer on the table for top talent - its possible other organizations might be seeking them as well and your selected potential hire might receive competitive offers or counter-offers from other organizations. How do you deal with this? If your first step is simply offering more money (which by the way is great - when an organization is willing to invest...

You might have a lot of exciting projects you've completed that you'd like to speak about at your interviews - however, are you choosing the right ones to speak about and highlight? Are they relevant? How do you know which ones to talk about? No matter how great YOU might think an accomplishment is - if it doesn't speak to the problem the organization is experiencing and which they want you to sol...

In today's episode, I discuss common mistakes I have seen organizations make in pinpointing the right person for the role they're recruiting for. Many organizations have faced the scenario of having a hiring need, only to find they're meeting with candidates who are not in fact the best skill set or organizational fit. Why does this happen and what can be done to reduce this from occurring? I disc...

On today's episode, I discuss the top reasons why Recruiters are not responding to your initial attempts at getting into communication with them. I speak to many candidates who experience this as a hurdle and ask me "Why aren't Recruiters responding to my initial attempts at contact?". I discuss the major reasons why this is occurring and make some suggestions on how to work around this to increas...

Are you experiencing candidates consistently dropping out of your interview process? I'm not talking about it being a random occurrence - I mean in a visible pattern!? Over the years as a Recruiter I have noticed this occur at various organizations and usually for similar reasons. In today's episode I discuss the Top 4 reasons why top talent may be choosing to discontinue the process with you, bas...

Working as a Recruiter at Staffing Agencies has allowed me the opportunity to assist Clients at various organizations ranging from startups to large-sized multinational organizations - which allows me to notice patterns in terms of feedback I've received from various Clients on the performance of candidates at interviews. When it comes to mistakes made at interviews, in this episode I discuss the...

It's a bizarre phenomenon when a candidate you felt was perfect for your organization takes up an offer elsewhere - sometimes a lower compensation package. Why do they do that? This is usually due to organizations not asking a key set of questions I cover in this episode.

December is usually the notorious "holiday season" where the job market appears to grind to a halt. Is there any point applying for jobs during this period? What's the point? This is a frequent concern I hear from job seekers who reach out to me during this time of the hear. In today's episode I cover 4 tips on how to push through this.

A lot of organizations introduce technical assessments to evaluate the technical ability of candidates. But how and where in your recruitment process you introduce these tests can result in top candidates dropping out of your interview pipelines. I discuss why in today's episode.

You have a finite amount of time everyday to dedicate to your job search. If you're looking while employed, that time is even more constrained - and you don't want to waste it chasing after people who can't even assist you. In today's episode, I discuss 3 Key Questions to ask Recruiters so you can qualify them to see if they can help you and how frequently you should followup with them - or not.

I discuss the Top 5 complaints I've heard consistently from job seekers regarding interviews they've attended. Is your organization making these and is it costing you top talent dropping out of your process?

Staying motivated can be a challenge during your job search - the rejections, no-responses, etc can take a toll on you. So how do you pick yourself back up? I discuss some strategies on how to get yourself motivated again.

Candidates dropping out of interviews. Candidates ghosting. Candidates taking other offers over yours. What gives and why do you keep experiencing this? I discuss the top 5 major reasons why this is occurring in this episode.

A common question I get asked is: "Dean - why am I not able to get a job?". It's a great question. But before you get to that, you have to break your job search into segments which help you figure out exactly which part is holding you back so you can investigate further.

Brief introduction about myself, what this podcast will be about and what to expect. If you're a #jobseeker or #recruitment professional, you'll definitely want to follow me for #jobsearch and #recruitment strategies you can use.