From Tough Talks on monster.com: Generally, we recognize that open, constructive communication is crucial to business success. But many dodge these chats at all costs. Others charge right in loaded and ready. Others try to dance around the topic and not hurt feelings. None of these strategies is likely to accomplish your goal, so you end up where you started. Let’s parse this paragraph out and look at the Selling Style for each line: But many dodge these chats at all costs. (High S) Others charge right in loaded and ready. (High D) Others try to dance around the topic and not hurt feelings. (High I) The only thing they… Read More
Continue ReadingVulcan Qualifying
First things first – I’m not a Trekkie. But there is a good lesson from Mr. Spock in regards to qualifying. Basically, emotions kill good qualifying. What I mean is that salespeople who become emotionally shackled to a prospect or opportunity lose objectivity. Once objectivity is gone, the salesperson tends to abandon their selling system and rationalize reasons without pursing facts from the prospect directly. The best salespeople we have encountered and assessed are the ones who are able to use their empathy to connect with the prospect and nothing more. They are able to build rapport yet stay emotionally detached so that stress, rejection, joy, anger and desperation do… Read More
Continue ReadingExpiring Ads
A quick note about expiring ads that we have experienced. Expect a small bump in responses as your ad posting is about to expire. We consistently see a handful of responses that come in within the last 3 days of an ad expiring. Although risky (the position may be filled by then), it is still an interesting and some times effective approach by candidates.
Continue ReadingSales Hiring Myth
I am a member of an online recruiter’s group and have a mild interest in their topics. What we do at Select Metrix is far from recruiting, but we often get lumped in with recruiters so I figure it is good to know the topics that interest them. One myth I keep encountering is this Jurassic-era myth that good salespeople do not look at employment ads. Only the “unhappy” salespeople look at ads. Here is a direct quote from one of the recruiters: People only look on job boards if they are unhappy with their job / boss / company. To recruit the happy people (happy typically equals good)…you need… Read More
Continue ReadingNew Google Base Beta
We are rarely on the bleeding edge here at The Hire Sense so maybe this isn’t news. Well, it is news to us. I stumbled upon Google Base this week. It appears to still be in beta test, but it looks like a fairly slick offering from the search juggernaut. You can post an item to a category whether it is from your blog, a want ad, a recipe, tickets, etc. It appears to be a real potpourri of stuff similar to Craigs List. We are checking out their job board to see what type of activity it generates. The site may be a bit too new to have much… Read More
Continue ReadingHiring Talent
Being Minnesotans, we are avid hockey fans and follow our professional team – the Wild. I was reading this article this morning and came across an interesting quote from the Wild’s General Manager: General manager Doug Risebrough demands fresh ideas from his advisers, and he praised Snow’s enthusiasm and work ethic as a journalist and his passion for hockey in announcing the hiring. “Where he came from was really academic,” Risebrough said. “I always believe if you get really talented people, you put them in a good environment and don’t constrict it. I don’t know how it will look in two years, but we’ll see.” The person he hired is… Read More
Continue ReadingSell What You Have, Not What You Hope
I’m fascinated by this behemoth airplane from Airbus called the A-380. I watched a show on Discovery that documented the engineering feats that had to be accomplished to build this thing – quite impressive. Today, I am reading about the delays in delivering this product on time. The plane is overweight which means it won’t travel the distances that the company claimed it would travel. The wings had a design flaw that has been “fixed” though strangely testing has not been completed yet. The plane will need to have a 10 mile gap behind it due to its jet wash which will require special handling by air traffic controllers. Is… Read More
Continue ReadingStats and Sourcing
First, the headline from the Pioneer Press article: State Jobless Rate Falls to 5-Year Low Now read it and you will see the business-challenged reporting we are treated to here in Minnesota. The unemployment rate is typically lower than the national average even during recessions. Our current unemployment rate is 3.7%! Yet this 13 paragraph article spends the first 8 paragraphs trying to paint this stat in a negative light. Unbelievable. But this statistic does bring me back to sourcing. With low unemployment in Minnesota, we are constantly looking for new sourcing channels for our local customers. We are consistent monster.com and careerbuilder.com users, but we have been branching out… Read More
Continue ReadingEmail Writing Tips
Admins Must Have the Write Stuff from monster.com provides excellent tips regarding proper email writing. The topics seem to be applicable to blog writing too. Quick quiz for you – what is a homonym? (answer below) I have broken almost all of their tips . . . recently. Anyway, I found this fact interesting: Use the Right Font: Most default fonts, like Times and Arial, are hard to read on screen. “You can cut down on missed typos by changing to Verdana,” suggests Peha. “It was specifically designed to be read on a computer monitor.” If your company requires a certain font, compose your text in Verdana and then change… Read More
Continue ReadingStyle Needed for the Job
I’m of 2 minds regarding this article from CareerJournal.com – Is Your Style the Right Fit For the Job You Are After? We always encourage companies to assess candidates even if it is only for communication style. Although hiring based on communication style is the least predictive approach of assessment-based hiring, it is still far superior to gut-level hiring. When looking for or accepting a new assignment, matching or adapting your personal style to the needs of the position can mean the difference between success and failure. Well, that is an easy concept for which to write, but a difficult action to implement. Rarely is there a position that requires… Read More
Continue Reading