The latest report on corporate hiring – 31% of U.S. Firms Plan to Add Staff – is good news for the economy. However, the labor market is tightening up fast. This market is different from the tech bubble of the late 1990’s as the author points out: On the whole, employers are still actively looking for workers in a variety of sectors, Joerres said. “They haven’t bloated themselves with excess people, so they’re consistently in the market. That’s very different from what we were seeing in 1999 and 2000,” he said. If you are planning to hire, expect a slightly longer process to source strong candidates. We are seeing this… Read More
Continue ReadingResume Enhancements
Nothing new in the fact that resumes are enhanced, but many companies continue to use them as the de facto first-pass filter for candidates. Three points from the article: A recent study by ResumeDoctor.com, a resume advisory service based in South Burlington, Vt., found that nearly 43 percent of more than 1,100 resumes it checked for dates of employment, job titles and education contained at least one significant inaccuracy. Nearly 13 percent of the resumes contained two or more inaccuracies. If 43% of the resumes a company reviews in response to an employment ad contain “one significant inaccuracy,” how reliable is that process for selecting the best candidate? “I think… Read More
Continue ReadingMonster.com stock options
Looks like monster.com has some internal issues with granting stock options to employees.
Continue Reading“…people quite their bosses, not their jobs”
I enjoy Tory Johnson’s articles from the abcnews.com website. Her latest offering, Bad Bosses Can Infect an Entire Business, is a quick read with a strong point. Employees need positive reinforcement. Some styles (High I) require more while other styles (High C) do not. Some employees are rewarded by praise while others are rewarded by money. Part of our business at Select Metrix is to identify these items in employees so that their managers can be more effective in leading them. The takeaway quote from this article (emphasis mine): Study after study confirms that workers are more committed to their jobs and are more productive when they know that management… Read More
Continue ReadingLost Sales Analysis
We posted on this topic in our old blog (predates The Hire Sense) and it is worth bumping up to this version. Paul DiModica writes in BDM News about one of the best sales tools around, the Lost Sales Analysis. I will warn you that this article is quite theoretical but I found it captivating. The lost sales analysis is more effective than percent of quota attainment as a measurement tool, because it measures not just the sales success of an account manager against some predetermined sales quota, but it also measures their success against competitors based on lost sales. The example he provides is excellent – even a numbers-challenged… Read More
Continue ReadingName vs. No-name
In one of my previous sales lives, I worked for 2 different companies in a highly specialized, technical field. The companies were competitors – I worked for the larger company first that had a highly recognized name in the market. The company was approximately 200 employees strong with worldwide sales. I worked for the smaller company about 2 years after resigning from the first company. The smaller company was family owned and had . . . how do I say it? . . . no name recognition. The company had 7 employees and 3 of them were related. I describe these 2 settings for you to make a point about… Read More
Continue ReadingOn Your Best Behavior
I had lunch yesterday with an old friend of mine whom I used to work with at a previous job in the technology market. He now owns his own handyman business and we were discussing past employment mistakes on our parts. I mentioned how we observe candidate behaviors during the hiring process with the understanding that this is the best they have to offer. What I mean is that they are displaying their best behavior, compliance, formality, etc. If a candidate appears to be somewhat inappropriate at this stage, they will not magically become better once they are on your payroll. My friend’s point was that candidates are observing employers… Read More
Continue ReadingMore on Leaders
I was worried that title was going to be “Moron Leaders.” Deeper article here from Selling Power that provides The Nine “P”s of Great Leadership. This comprehensive article is a quick read with much usable data. I particularly like their take on character as opposed to the article in the previous post. From the Nine “P”s: Principles. Do the right thing all the time, not just when it€™s convenient and not just when you know somebody is watching. Strive to lead with credibility, integrity, vulnerability, accountability, and steadfastness. A descriptive explanation as opposed to a cluttered topic intermixing character, personality and style. One more excellent excerpt from the article: People.… Read More
Continue ReadingTraits of Great Leaders
CareerBuilder has an article out regarding the 5 Key Traits of Great Leaders. As you know, we enjoy lists at The Hire Sense. The author provides a fair explanation of each trait and I doubt anyone would argue with any of the traits. Here they are: You must have a vision. You must have passion. You must learn to be a great decision maker. You must be a team builder. You must have character. Again, who would argue with these 5? Well, I will…with the last one. First, an excerpt from the author’s explanation of that point (emphasis mine): Without character, all the other “keys” are for naught. That’s because… Read More
Continue ReadingWriting about Fuzz
A couple of weeks ago we posted about a monster.com random interview question generator. One of the strange questions posed to candidates was “Why is there fuzz on a tennis ball?” I kid you not, we are getting hit on that topic. So, being the broad-ranging resource that we are, I had some fun with the search engines and found a simple answer: The fuzz increases the wind resistance, which slows down the ball and helps the players to volley (hit the ball back and forth without stopping) longer. Without it, the ball would fly off the court after every serve! The fuzz also helps players control the ball, by… Read More
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