Having been in executive search for 8 years, dealing with CEO's of companies, HR Directors and Hiring Managers, I found there is a disconnect between all three of these people that are imperative to the success of a company.  They all approach the hiring process differently.  Unless, you have a direct referral into one of the above, your resume will be treated the same.

First of all, when you apply for a job through an internet posting, you can be assured that your resume will go through an automated selection process, especially with larger companies, so make sure you have used the proper key words that apply to the open position.  If your resume makes it through this process to a HR recruiter, it will be quickly looked at first to see if you meet the basic requirements for the job.

HR people are very busy, so you must make sure to clearly state who you are and what skills you bring to a company; all within the career summary paragraph.  Most recruiters will read the career summary first which should tell "you story" in four to five sentences.  Then, they will check to see what companies you've worked for, so make sure to add a descriptive on your former and current companies.  Make sure to list the sales volume, number of employees and where it was located.

While we are all waiting for the price of our residential property to go higher, is there a chance that it will go even lower?  I have a broker friend in residential real estate that has always made money on her residential properties, both in Chicago and Sarasota. She manages to always buy and sell at the right time.  Four years ago, she bought a condo on Michigan Avenue.  She put it on the market last December.

Her doing this makes me nervous.  Why would she sell now when the real estate market is so depressed?  She couldn't possibility have made money on her condo, so why sell now?  Perhaps, she believes the Chicago residential real estate market is going down even further and she wanted to cash out, pronto!

I have seen a sneak preview of data on the Chicago market collected by east coast analyst Keith Jurow, who writes for the investment site Minyanville and has a subscription-based report which explains what is really going on in residential real estate throughout the U.S.  He has local contacts with banks, mortgage companies and prominent individuals that he taps into for concise and accurate data to evaluate the real value of residential real estate in specific markets.

The latest number for Americans who owe more on their mortgage than their homes are worth has risen from 23%-28%.  In a healthy housing market this number is about 5% of homeowners who are "underwater".  Experts don't expect an improvement in the market for at least another year which will certainly slow down our economy.

On the jobs front, the U.S. April jobs report released last week showed a gain of 244,000 jobs, all in the private sector. This was a much higher number than economists prediction of 185,000. Even though the job gains over the past three months were solid, averaging 233,000 a month, analysts say that 300,000-400,000 new jobs are needed to bring down the current unemployment rate of 9%.

The number of unofficially unemployed workers stood at 13.75 million in April which is up 205,000 from March.  The economy has only recovered a fraction of the 8 million jobs lost during the 2007-2009 Great Recession.  Government payrolls have retracted for the last six months with expectations that this trend will continue as the government payroll shed 24,000 jobs in April due to cuts at state and public agencies. 

There are some dramatic changes in the adoption provisions in Illinois that you need to know.  Whether you are adopted, have put up a baby for adoption or are thinking of adopting, the new laws may dramatically affect your life.

Illinois law now allows adopted adults born in Illinois prior to January 1, 1946, to obtain a copy of their original birth certificate listing the name(s) of their birth parent(s) by filing for a Non-Certified copy of an Original Birth Certificate form with the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange (IARMIE), which is administered by the Illinois Department of Health.

Beginning on November 15, 2011, adopted adults born in Illinois after January 1, 1946, may obtain a copy of their original birth certificate listing the name(s) of their birth parent(s) by filing a Request for a Non-Certified Copy of an Original Birth Certificate form with IARME.

The birth parents of adopted persons born in Illinois after January 1, 1946, may request that their name be removed from all copies of an adopted adult's original birth certificate releases during the birth parents lifetime by filing a Birth Parent Preference form with IARMIE after January 1, 2011.  To ensure anonymity, this form should be filed prior to November, 15, 2011.

The news of the killing of Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 attack, shook the World last night!  It was if we had all but given up on finding him and then in a minute he was gunned down by U.S. forces and declared dead!  It was a victory for Americans and their families who lost their lives in 9/11, yet what about the followers of bin Laden?

It has been nearly a (10)-year hunt for Osama bin Laden with leads that always seemed to go, nowhere.  Bin Laden made it through illness and distress, only to flee into hiding when the U.S. was close to finding him.  He was like a ghost, vanishing before he could get caught.

Not this time!  Bin Laden was gunned down in his hideout that looked like a pre-historic cave with splattered blood.  Yet, others say he lived in a mansion that contrasted with rumors that he lived in caves. His followers chose to not believe the news and urged members not to believe the news of his death until it was confirmed online by militant news sources. 

Having attended the ChicagoNow Tweet up at the Clark Street Ale House which is always a fun event to hobnob with my fellow bloggers, I left for dinner with my husband in the River North neighborhood. Cold and rainy, we looked for a place to have a quick dinner that wasn't too far from the Ale House.

We tried to get into one of my favorite places Quartino's but the place was packed with people waiting for dinner. We didn't want to wait for a table, so we headed down the street to our "standby" restaurant Bijan's on State Street, where we used to go when we were dating.

Tired from a long day, we perched ourselves at a table by the window. While peering at the menu, I looked up and who walks in with a woman but our Governor Quinn! He casually strolls in, walking right by us and sits at a table 6 feet from ours. I look out the window and see Quinn's limo parked in front. In the corner sits his bodyguard drinking an iced tea.

It's official!  Technology companies are, once again, leading the pack in creating new jobs. This is the biggest hiring binge in more than a decade for tech firms and you don't want to miss it! The really good news is that the jobs added are not just entry-level positions, but many companies need experienced workers as they build their teams! 

These tech firms need people from all backgrounds, including sales, marketing, engineering, product design, management, finance, and social media.  Many are seeking workers with extensive experience that have a work history of leading a team in multi-platform technology. In fact, talented workers are getting multiple offers; something we have not seen in a long time.

The well-known names that are leaders in this space are Facebook which plans to add about 1,000 jobs in 2011, Google which is "on-fire" adding more than 6,000 workers in 2011 and Twitter which will add about 2,500 jobs by 2013.  Other well-known companies are Skype who will add 350 positions by 2011, eBay who is hiring hundreds of people worldwide and Amazon who is looking to fill thousands of jobs in 2011.

Still looking for a job? You are not alone.  With the national unemployment rate "stuck" at 8.8%, many who are still unemployed or underemployed still struggle to find employment. A number of companies appear to be stepping up their hiring, yet there are still too many qualified candidates, for too few jobs.