Inc.com offers up a timely article regarding employee blogging and the different pitfalls for companies who allow it. Honestly, I haven’t put as much thought into this topic as the writer. I did find these 10 points interesting (thought I don’t follow them): 1. Remind employees to familiarize themselves with the employment agreement and policies included in the employee handbook before they begin blogging. 2. State that the policy applies to both blogs for the company and personal blogs. 3. Blog posts should not disclose any information that is confidential or proprietary to the company or to any third party that has disclosed information to the company. 4. If an… Read More
Continue ReadingGood Sign, Bad Sign
As is so often the case in this economy, the market is sending mixed signals. From one article on abcnews.com: The economic strength, both in U.S. and international markets, plus cost cuts, higher rates and fuel surcharges led to a 33 percent increase in first-quarter profit. UPS boosted its full-year outlook when it pre-released its earnings two weeks ago. And one paragraph later: UPS Inc., also known as United Parcel Service, restructured its business over the last 18 months, cutting jobs in the process. The shipper doesn’t plan any significant hiring anytime soon, at least until the recovery is on more solid footing. Jobless recovery anyone? The difficulty is that… Read More
Continue ReadingA Good Employment Sign
From the indeed.com blog: For the first time in 2010, our Job Market Competition report shows all major metropolitan areas have fewer than 10 unemployed persons per job posting – a notable lessening of job competition since our last report. Washington D.C. has only one unemployed per job posting, maintaining its first place position as the city with the least competition for jobs. At the other end of the scale, Detroit moved up one place from the bottom position: it now has nine unemployed per job posting, an improvement from 13 earlier this year. The post contains the top 5 and bottom 5 metro markets based on number of unemployed… Read More
Continue ReadingSpam Sourcing
How is this for a spam approach to applicants? You have been accepted for a high paying work from home job. Click the link below to get all the information: Click Here Sincerely, Hiring Manager p.s. Please claim your position today or it will be given to the next applicant. The “p.s.” line is fantastic.
Continue ReadingBig Personalities In Selling
We’re an assessment company so you can imagine how adamant I am about assessing candidates (not just for sales positions either). However, in sales it is crucial to use assessments to cut through the sales candidates’ well-developed social skills. Unfortunately, many assessment tools focus on personality only which is not a reliable or repeatable predictor of sales success. My experience has been that most people focus on big personalities when it comes to selling. If the person is a good talker, tells funny stories, lights up the room, etc., then they must be a good salesperson. The bigger the personality, the more they will sell. Ok, I grant you that… Read More
Continue ReadingProduct vs. Service Sales
I’ve been seeing this distinction first-hand among salespeople I have encountered of late. I’m not sure there is a clear-cut sales ability towards product vs. service sales, but I do know that certain salespeople have skills and aptitudes that support one over the other. In that vein I give you a quick breakdown of sales traits that come from these two forms of selling. Product Sales -Quantity-focused – the approach is to close frequently and success is measured in total numbers -Speed first – fast, frequent closing is their approach, 1-call closes are their ideal -Off-the-shelf – typically they prefer to sell a pre-designed solution -Discount – their drop-close is… Read More
Continue ReadingEnd My Hiring Misery
Here is a good read from Inc.com on improving your hiring process. The pull quote for me: In my opinion, one of the reasons people do such a poor job in hiring, is that they just want to get it over with,” Matuson says. “Really take your time, do it right, and ask yourself the question, constantly, ‘is this person good enough? Is this really the right person, or am I just trying to end my misery?” Umm, yes, I have seen that first hand on many occasions…from my customers! Anyway, there is some good information in the article along with some cliché advice. Here is some of the good:… Read More
Continue ReadingThrow Away Lines
I read a sales ad today that started with this line: Are you a career-minded salesperson… What does that mean? I bet if I asked 10 people I would get 10 different answers. I call sentences like this “throw away lines” because they do nothing for the ad. It is vitally important when writing ads to only include sentences that describe the position and the type of person who will excel within it. Anything else is wasted space.
Continue Reading2010 Hiring Trends
From the Herman Group newsletter: According to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Surveys, the US will have a year-over-year increase of about five percent with a record-tying 73 percent of employers keeping staff levels stable. Twelve of the 13 industry sectors surveyed report positive net employment outlooks, meaning employers in most industry sectors plan to add staff during the second quarter. The only sector expecting negative growth is Government, however with the passage of the recent healthcare legislation, we believe that may not be an accurate forecast. Moreover, among the 201 local metropolitan statistical areas surveyed, “94 percent indicate a positive or neutral net employment outlook, indicating cautious optimism is… Read More
Continue ReadingDisappearing Telecommuters
Saleshq.com offers up tricks for telecommuters in this article. There are some solid points like this: 5. Communication It’s very easy to forget the outside world when you work from home. While you do get to avoid the intricacies of corporate politics, it also means that you have to be your own advocate. Make sure there are multiple ways for your boss and colleagues to contact you. Check your email frequently, and respond as immediately as you can. Keep your phone at hand, and make sure you call if there’s an office meeting. An instant messaging service works well for open communication if something changes last minute. For more long… Read More
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