Quicken Loans has been named one of FORTUNE Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” for the 7th consecutive year! To celebrate, our Recruiting Team is hosting a Career Fair on Tuesday, 3/9/2010 to showcase some of our open career opportunities! The Career Fair will be from 4:00 pm – 7:00 PM EST.

If you are a high-level performer who makes a difference in all that you do, check out our Mortgage Banking position at the Quicken Loans Careers site and attend our Career Fair! You’ll be on your way to success within your first year.

When: Tuesday, 3/9/2010 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Where: Quicken Loans, 20555 Victor Parkway, Livonia, MI 48152

The 11th Annual Cavaliers Career Fair is tomorrow from 1 - 4pm. It’ll be hosted at the Quicken Loans Arena, just before the the Cavaliers take on the New Orleans Hornets at 7:00 PM. Your $27 admission to the career fair includes a ticket to the game! For more information, check out The Q's website.

While we'd love to have all our DIFF readers come work at QL, there will be more than 35 companies represented at tomorrow's career fair. If you're in Ohio and need a job, this is shaping up to be the career opportunity of the year!

While you're there, say hi to my friends Pete Ferency and Amanda Huizenga, who will be attending to represent QL and Fathead. AND they’ll be raffling off free Fatheads at the fair!

As always, visit the Quicken Loans Careers website for a current list of available opportunities.

Got a heads up from my friends Pete and Eric on our Recruiting team about 2 career fairs in Michigan. I think this is cool not only because we'll be there, but, well, Michigan's unemployment rate is one of the highest in the country. So, Michigan, if you're reading this and need a job - get to one of these career fairs tomorrow!

• Michigan 2009 Fall Career Expo, October 22 from 11am -3pm at Northwood University in Midland
• 5th Annual Diversity Career Fair, October 22 from 12noon - 3pm at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti

To check out what we have to offer, visit our Careers site and view all of Quicken Loans job listings.

While no one I know at work actually plays a guitar, our halls are filled with a ton of Rock Stars. Which is why Quicken Loans is proud to be involved with the RockStars@Work conference on October 20 in Minneapolis. 

About RockStars@Work straight from their site:

The RockStars@Work Conference was created to address the talent gap in a trend-setting event, featuring:

Star Speakers
Executives of some of the largest companies in the U.S. will share their stories of success as a result of working with younger generations. Purchase a VIP pass to meet these leading stars!

Proven Strategies
View mini-performances (break-outs) led by the most innovative organizations that are effectively recruiting, retaining, managing, and marketing to younger generations. A non-profit track is included.

Trend-Setting Tools
From tech gadgets to green space, experience the future of the workplace at the World Tour -- a series of interactive displays featuring the latest and greatest instruments preferred by Generations X and Y.

Next Generation Celebration
Apply for a Next Generation Employer of Choice Award or learn from the best during an entertaining, Grammy-style awards ceremony.

Rockin’ Entertainment
From the red carpet to RockStars TV, music videos, light show, and live band, this conference is guaranteed to deliver great information in an especially entertaining and engaging way.

We're even lucky enough to be sending one of our brightest, Regional Vice President Tony Nuckolls, to be a speaker! And rumor has it yours truly will be flying out as well to cover the event from every social media angle possible. I can't wait! Here's a bit about Tony's preso:

by Regis Hadiaris

If you're into Marketing or Sales, and you haven't read any of the books by Mark Stevens, you are in for a treat.  My copy of Mark's most popular book, "Your Marketing Sucks," is the most dog-eared, highlighted, and re-read book in my library.  Mark is a big proponent of a  dangerous idea that marketing should be about making money, not spending it!

I recently sat down with Mark to discuss unconventional thinking and leadership with him.  Not only did Mark open my eyes to what an amazing invention the mortgage is, he also shared lots of actionable ideas for leaders. 

Here are three of my favorite comments from Mark, all of which demonstrate his commitment to exposing the difference between average and excellent every single day:

If I had a dollar for each time I have been with a group of teammates or even school mates and the conversion of salaries came up – I’d have a bunch of dollars.  Often the conversation is around, “How can I make more money?”  This is why while cruising through Yahoo Finance today I stopped and clicked on the article, 9 Reasons Why Your Salary Isn’t Higher.

Come on, who doesn’t want to why they do not make more money.  If you know why, then you can possibly change things that are keeping your paychecks short.  Unfortunately this article doesn’t exactly leave very many things for you to easily change. 

Who would have thought that there were so many strange factors that played into your salary.  Check out some of the things that can impact how much money you make:

By Joy Fair

Well, the results are in, only to confirm what I already knew…WE ARE THE BEST! 

The Quicken Loans technology team has done it again, we have earned the bragging rights to say that I do indeed work for one of the best places to work in technology.  And that isn’t just me bragging, this comes straight from the folks at Computerworld Magazine, who ranked Quicken Loans the second best place to work in IT in the entire country. 

This isn’t the first time we have been recognized by Computerworld, in fact, we have been their top company the three previous years.

By Jennifer Palmer
Quicken Loans Recruiter

When you apply for a position through a career Web site are you prepared for that first phone call?  Have you done your research on the company Web site?  Do you know what position you are applying for?  Have you done research on the position you are applying for through that specific company?  These are all important questions to ask yourself before you click “submit” on the company Web site. 

When the first phone call comes in from a recruiter you should be prepared to answer a set of general screening questions.  Here are some key things to do to prepare yourself before you receive that first phone call:

• Always have a copy of your resume handy. Most recruiters will want to review a few key points on your resume.
• Know what position you applied for with each company.
• Do as much research ahead of time on the position as well as the company through the company Web site.
• Always act enthusiastic starting with the first phone call since that is the point you are being evaluated. If it is not a good time for you to make that lasting impression, schedule a time for the recruiter to call you back.

In other words, be prepared! This will make you stand out amongst the hundreds of other candidates that may be applying for that same position.

By Jim Richards & Michelle Salvatore

At Quicken Loans, we continuously talk about being professional, or as we call it, “high level.”  In essence, this means providing clients and candidates with a high level of professionalism, follow-up and service.  For example, if I tell a candidate that I will call them back at 5:00pm, then I call EXACTLY at 5:00pm.  This is the level of service that we expect from our team members.  Here are some of our tips to be “high level” during the interview process:

By Michelle Salvatore

When you’re applying for a job anywhere, there are just some things you really need to do to at least appear professional.

Lesson 1: Leaving a professional outgoing message on your voicemail.
Lesson 2: Calling back your recruiter.