In the Media
2007-04-07 , Globe and Mail: Report on Business
Thinking small can reap big dividends
by VIRGINIA GALT, WORKPLACE REPORTER
A cold call wouldn't get a job seeker past the security desk at most big corporations, which routinely field tens of thousands of résumés a year. Applications often remain unread and unacknowledged, or get filtered out by sophisticated computer screening systems.
Small business owners, on the other hand, are far more likely to say "come on in."
Thirty per cent of business owners recently polled by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) reported that unsolicited applications and cold calls provide some of their most promising leads on hot prospects.
Almost 70 per cent rely on referrals from family and friends. Some even pay "bounties" to employees who bring in new talent.
Desperate for qualified staff, small and mid-sized businesses find it difficult to compete the with big-name companies. The CFIB says in a recent report, "Help Wanted," that more than 251,000 positions remained unfilled for more than four months at small and medium-sized businesses across the country last year.
"Job seekers don't often think of the local businesses that they may never have heard of, that may be tucked away in an industrial park that they don't drive by on a day-to-day basis," says Dan Kelly, CFIB vice-president for Western Canada.
"Yet, there are loads and loads of very solid opportunities in these businesses," he says.
For job seekers, it's mostly a matter of connecting and -- when it comes to small business -- the old-fashioned methods generally work best: asking acquaintances if they know of any opportunities, scanning community newspapers for local help-wanted ads, reading trade publications, dropping a line, placing a call.
Chances are, an applicant for a small-business job will be one of a handful of candidates, not one of a thousand or more, says career consultant Brad Karsh, founder of Chicago-based JobBound.com. "But typically these kinds of jobs aren't going to be posted on the big job sites, they aren't going to be readily available, so it takes some effort on the part of the job seeker to hunt and find these opportunities.
"It takes perseverance and it takes a little more effort. But for those who have the entrepreneurial bug, or who are more willing to take some risks, it can be spectacularly rewarding," Mr. Karsh says.
One of the beauties of working in a small operation is the lack of bureaucracy -- "you don't have to go through six levels, your assignments will probably be more meaningful and you have the opportunity for potentially rapid growth," Mr. Karsh says.
"While you may lose the security of working for IBM or something, you also gain in terms of flexibility."
Signing on with a little-known company can be a "high risk, high reward" proposition. It isn't for everybody, Mr. Karsh adds. "But think about it: Eight years ago Google was a small company. Imagine if you got into that and you said, 'I'm just working for a little company no-one's ever heard of called Google.' Well, now you'd be a millionaire."
When Mr. Karsh needs to hire for his own operation, he spreads the word through friends, acquaintances and business contacts. He posts his openings on craigslist, an online directory that includes classified ads and community message boards in hundreds of cities around the world.
"I know a lot of small-business people who post ads there, and I know a lot of job seekers who go there. It's free to both parties and it's a good place to troll if you are looking for work at a small to mid-sized company."
A lot of Canadian employers and job seekers also connect through the informal exchange of information on kijiji.ca, a website where users swap information with others in their local communities on goods, services, housing and employment opportunities, says Janet Bannister, country manager for Kijiji Canada.
"It's free, it's easy to use and it's all about local," Ms. Bannister says.
Business owner Alexandra Senkow, founder of Edmonton-based Defining Eve, which provides personal training to women, posts her job openings on campus websites -- the listings are usually free -- and encourages her employees to refer good prospects.
Recent recruit Kristen Hagg, a kinesiology graduate from the University of Alberta, found her opportunity at Defining Eve through a Web posting. What impressed her, right off the bat, was that Ms. Senkow took the time to conduct the interview herself, "so I could really see what I was getting into," Ms. Hagg says.
"I think it makes a big difference when the owner . . . is actually involved in bringing people in, rather than somebody else who may not be as invested in the company."
Ms. Senkow says that, because Defining Eve is small, employees have a huge say in how the operation is run. "If you have a great idea, you can see it to fruition," she says.
In Vancouver, word-of-mouth referrals and postings on industry websites are the primary methods used by public relations company James Hoggan and Associates Inc. to find excellent candidates.
Even when there are no immediate openings, the company conducts "informational interviews" with qualified people who have expressed an interest in working there, says Karen Cook Boas, executive vice-president.
"We have about 15 PR people who meet with people all the time so that, ideally, when a position comes open, we already have a number of candidates in mind," Ms. Cook Boas says.
Senior account manager Nicole Rizgalla found her way to Hoggan and Associates last month through an ad in a newsletter circulated by the Canadian Public Relations Society. Ms. Rizgalla, who knew the firm by reputation, was offered a job after a couple of interviews, but first wanted to meet the person she would be directly reporting to.
"So often, it's about the dynamics of the people you work with, especially in a small company, so you have to have a feeling that you are going to be comfortable with your direct report," Ms. Rizgalla says.
The introductions were made over lunch at a nearby sushi restaurant and the chemistry was right, Ms. Rizgalla said. "It really sealed the deal for me."
