Inc.com offers As Valentine’s Day Approaches, Office Romance on the Rise – an appropriate story the day before Valentine’s. Check out the lede: The number of workers caught canoodling at work has skyrocketed over the past year, according to new research. That deserves mention simply for using the verb “canoodling.” When is the last time you read that in a business article? Yeah, I know, maybe last year at this time. Anyway, the stats: Four out of 10 U.S. workers admit to being involved with another colleague at some point, according to a new survey by Spherion, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based employment firm, and Harris Interactive. … Twenty-five percent of… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Social Media Boom
From Foxnews.com – Study: Inc. 500 Companies Fast Adopters of Social Media: The nation’s fastest-growing private companies are making use of social media – including blogs, social networking and podcasts – at a rate more than twice that of Fortune 500 companies, according to a new study. The University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth’s Center for Marketing Research surveyed companies from the 2006 Inc. 500 list, to gauge the level of familiarity and usage of six forms of social media blogging, podcasting, online video, social networking and wikis. Out of 121 respondents, generally managers and other senior-level executives, 42 percent claimed to be “very familiar” with social networking, followed by 38 percent with… Read More
Continue ReadingResume Knock-Out Factors
CareerJournal.com reposted an older article regarding resume errors that land in the “no interest” pile. From These Resume Gaffes Do Immediate Damage: These knockout factors invariably mean sure death to a person’s candidacy. They typically include: 1. An objective that doesn’t match current openings. 2. Inappropriate or insufficient educational credentials. 3. Incompatible salary requirements. 4. Poorly organized, sloppy or hard-to-read content. 5. Geographic restrictions incompatible with current openings. 6. A long list of employers in a short period of time. 7. Too much information. 8. A lack of U.S. citizen or permanent-resident status. The list is comprehensive, but I have to add one more item – misspellings. We’ve posted on… Read More
Continue ReadingWhat Candidates Look For In A Job
A few months ago I posted on Why Salespeople Leave which discussed the disconnect between how a company compensates their salespeople and what the salespeople view as a reward. Last week I attended a webinar jointly presented by Monster and DDI and was amazed at the disconnect they found in their research between what employers think candidates desire in a position and reality. Employers, or more specifically hiring managers, listed these items as the top 4 reasons why a candidate takes a position: A good manager/boss. Opportunity to advance. Opportunities to learn and grow. Balance between work and personal life. However, here is how the candidates responded in the survey:… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Turnover Symptom
Turnover is a symptom of a deeper disease in most companies. A consistent turnover level typically speaks to one of two problems – poor management skills or hiring the wrong employees. Corporate culture, compensation and other topics can come in to play, but I want to focus on the former topics. One of our placements resigned this week after only 6 weeks in the role. This is not a sales position so it is somewhat outside of our expertise. Nonetheless, I contacted the former employee and discussed with her what went sideways. She laid most of the blame at the feet of one of the co-owners of the company and… Read More
Continue ReadingAccount Executive Requirements
From a sales ad for an Account Executive: Successful candidate must: Type 50+ wpm Be proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook) Of course there were other bullets in the list, but these jumped out at me. If you are trying to find a strong salesperson and you are concerned about their typing ability, I am doubtful you are going to hire a strong salesperson. I could be wrong, but I’ll take the odds on this one. To make matters worse, this ad was placed by a recruiting agency for an internal hire!
Continue ReadingThe Best States For Business
From Inc.com: Among the 50 states, Connecticut and Delaware offer the best economic climate for entrepreneurs and business, according to a new report by the Corporation for Enterprise Development, a private research group based in Washington. The two states were alone in earning straight As on the group’s 20th annual report card of state economies for 2007, based on business vitality, performance, and development capacity. Colorado, Massachusetts, and Minnesota also garnered high marks across all three categories. That looks like a top 5 finish for our state. It is a bit surprising since the tax burden in this state is, well, burdensome. Nonetheless, there is a strong business infrastructure here.… Read More
Continue ReadingBody Language Continued
We are now establishing a theme for today’s posts. BusinessWeek.com offers this article regarding body language – It’s Not Your Mouth That Speaks Volumes. I’ve read these stats before but I always find them remarkable: Only a small percentage of communication involves actual words: 7%, to be exact. In fact, 55% of communication is visual (body language, eye contact) and 38% is vocal (pitch, speed, volume, tone of voice). The world’s best business communicators have strong body language: a commanding presence that reflects confidence, competence, and charisma. Do you ever stop and think of that percentage – only 7% of in-person communication is your choice of words. That’s amazingly minute.… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Body Language Of Interviews
You Can Say Too Much Without Even Speaking – this is so true. This article dovetails nicely with our Sales Traits Series posted earlier today. From CareerJournal.com: No matter what a job candidate might say, using the wrong body language can make them appear disinterested or even deceitful to recruiters. I sat through an interview recently with a candidate who maintained eye contact without blinking. Ok, that may be an overstatement, but I was quite put-off by his intensity. Thankfully, I don’t think is mattered much to our customer. That faux pas just happens to be the first one listed in this article: 1. Maintain the right amount of eye… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Traits Series – Understanding Attitude
This week we look at a subtle, but powerful, aptitude for successful selling. Salespeople with this trait are often described as being able to “read a situation” with amazing insight. Understanding Attitude The ability to read between the lines in understanding such things as body language, reticence, stress and emotions. Essentially, the capacity to grasp the intangible aspects of a complex situation. A salesperson with strength in this area will utilize more than simply words to gather information about another. A weakness in this area indicates a lack of ability to measure another’s attitude through indirect signs or signals.
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