SkyWater Blog

And The 7 Steps You Should Take Instead

There are very few moments in a job search as thrilling as learning that the employer of your dreams is about to extend an offer.

And then, there are few moments as demoralizing as receiving that offer… only to discover that it is nowhere near the salary you thought it would be.

You’ve been lowballed, my friend.  And it happens more often than you might think (even to very strong candidates). We have a team of executive recruiters in Minnesota, and a team of executive recruiters in Chicago, and both teams will tell you that they have helped candidates craft professional counter offers many times over the course of their recruiting careers. We're here to explain why this happens, and what you can do about it.

How to shake off the ridiculous myth that quitting = failure

4 Simple Things That Make All the Difference

In the early, chaotic days of the pandemic, many Twin Cities employers put the brakes on hiring in order to regroup, re-forecast, and hunker down to ride out the storm. But over the past few months, we’ve been seeing a steady uptick in hiring. That’s just one more reason for Minnesotans, especially job seekers, to be optimistic. But does it mean that the job market – or your job search – have snapped back to last year’s normal?

A headshot says a lot about how polished you are both on and off the camera. If you've taken the time to perfect the headshot you select for your LinkedIn profile,  you'll also give employers a good impression about your drive to do quality work.

Today we'll hear from Jonathan Conklin, the professional photographer who we partner with for our recruiter headshots here at SkyWater. We would love for Jonathan to share his knowledge about how to perfect your headshot, and command the attention you deserve from employers in your field.

Let me start with an understatement: a lot has changed in the employment industry during 2020. While the Twin Cities hasn’t suffered the same unemployment rates as much of the country, we’ve certainly followed the trend of COVID’s impact on our economy. As a result, we’ve gone from a candidate shortage so dire that many local employers were facing serious risks of failing to meet plan simply because they couldn’t get enough people on board to do the work – to something of a surge in available talent.

Trying to be all things to all employers just doesn't work any more, if it ever did. The candidate whose resume says "Project Manager" AND "Engineer" must decide which she is. Otherwise, she comes across to potential employers as confused, unfocused and possibly desperate.

Job loss at any time is stressful and disorienting. In the middle of a global pandemic, it seems almost surreal. Yet, all across America this is the reality of COVID-19. Here, in Minnesota, more than 450,000 people have seen their jobs taken away, pared down, or temporarily suspended.

Perhaps you're thinking it's about time to review your career path options and explore the opportunities available out there. You might be asking yourself what your long-term career goals are and which employers will match those aspirations to support your career development.

Whether you’re an experienced telecommuter, or this is the first time you’ve ever set up a virtual work station, the truth is: nobody has worked from home like this before.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been tapping into our favorite resources, gathering up some of the best tips we can find on how to survive – and thrive – during quarantine-forced telecommuting. We’ve found a lot of solid advice out there from very seasoned, highly successful professionals who have been doing this for years. These are people who know all the tricks for staying productive, engaged, and happy as full-time telecommuters.

Is your resume up-to-date? You may think it is if you’ve been diligently adding every new role and accomplishment as you’ve been racking them up over the year.