Spelling errors in a resume are bad, but spelling errors in ads may be worse.  I’m looking through ads this afternoon and found an ad that spelled Minnesota this way – Minnasota.  Yeah, that isn’t going to impress the locals.  However, I think I have seen the worst error ever.  One company has the word “electrical” in their name…they misspelled it.  They misspelled their own company name.

Unbelievable.

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The doom-and-gloom economic reporting continues and as a sales manager it is important to keep a pulse on your team.  More articles are being released on the topic of employees getting skittish about their future with the company.  Bob Rosner offers some good advice for these employees in his Working Wounded blog:

Be careful to not drink the Kool-Aid with coworkers by being hyper-critical about your company’s future. Get an outside opinion. If you work for a public company, talk to a stock broker. A search in our city listed 391 brokers who offer a free consultation. If you work for a smaller company, check with vendors to see if they’re getting paid on time. Don’t stop there — also get a read on your department. Is your budget increasing? Do you work with vital customers? These are great check-ups to see if a layoff could be in your future.

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Do you like, love or just plain hate your job? If you’re really unhappy, try information interviews with people on a career path that interests you. Passionate people enjoy sharing career tips with others. You could also obtain a skills and personality evaluation to determine your vital signs. Your work decision-making shouldn’t just revolve around your company or region’s vitality — it should reflect your passions too.

There will be plenty of salespeople jumping ship if they find a more secure opportunity.  Now is the time when sales managers have to secure their top talent before they drink the Kool-Aid.  Take the extra time to interact with your team and get a read of their present mindset.

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I just read an employment ad for a sales position that had this for the title:

Salesmen

Honestly, how out of touch can you be?

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From CollegeRecruiter.com’s Sample Interview Questions for Those Hiring Millennials:

William recommends that interviewers “incorporate more personal questions that expose a candidate’s personality, work ethic, and personal motivations” because “how a person approaches life is often indicative of how they’d approach work.” He therefore recommends rephrasing typical interview questions in a way that they better apply to the personal lives of your candidates. Sample interview questions in this area include:

• How do you primarily communicate with friends? How often?
• When you have a dilemma to solve, how do you approach it?
• How do you spend your free time? (Do you prefer doing activities solo, with friends, or in groups?)

Excellent advice for interviewing a Gen Y candidate.  The questions will lead to revealing insight into the candidate.  The secondary benefit that now you appear to be speaking their language which is valuable in itself.

If you were to tie these questions to an assessment, you would have an in-depth view of this candidate like you have never seen.

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