Multitasking is one of those words that has entered business lexicon but should be considered an urban myth. We posted on this topic a few months ago and now I have come across a short Q&A article from CareerJournal.com that addresses the physical aspects of so-called multitasking. First, kudos to the author of the question who can really turn a phrase (emphasis mine): You’ve written that too much multitasking can leave the mind and body marinating in stress hormones. Can you elaborate on the physiological effects?…Brief or infrequent stress responses pose little risk. But when a person responds this way habitually or over long periods, the risk of injury or… Read More
Continue ReadingHope For Bad Writing Skills
Bad Writing: As Written Communication Skills Deteriorate, Business Schools Take Aim. There is hope and I am encouraged this Monday morning. We comment about writing skills frequently here at The Hire Sense since, well, we have seen some atrocious documents. The article attacks the problem right at the source: But in an era of nonstop e-mail and instant and text messaging, written communication skills within companies may be getting even worse as quality is compromised by the perceived need for speed. The casualness of email and the shorthand of text messaging has crippled writing styles. Now it appears to be affecting basic writing ability. The ubiquitousness of cell phones probably… Read More
Continue ReadingCover Letter of the Month Club
The email covers are like Clark Griswold’s Jelly of the Month Club membership – they are the gift that keeps on giving. Scanning through recent resumes led me to this cover email statement: I currently am the best sale personality i have ever met. However i’m not loving my postion right now. I think this was supposed to be a joke. At least I hope so.
Continue ReadingYouTube Resumes
Posting Your Resume on YouTube To Stand Out From the Competition. First, the gist of the article: …young job hunters are starting to make a video clip part of their job application, sometimes even posting them on sites like Google Inc.’s YouTube… It seemed like this day would be coming. But the author does bring up a good point that crossed my mind: Many employers and third-party recruiters remain wary of the concept of video resumes. Those who oppose it say that turning down candidates for interviews after seeing what they look and sound like on video could leave employers open to discrimination lawsuits. When job candidates send in photos… Read More
Continue ReadingMy Dog Ate My Homework
Remember that old line? Apparently some employees believe it still has legs even after graduating. We love lists here at The Hire Sense and CareerBuilder offers up one of my seasonal favorites – Thirty-Two Percent of Workers Called in Sick With Fake Excuses in the Last Year. I have no idea how many companies still separate sick days from vacation days – I was under the impression most companies just offered PTO now. At any rate, a couple statistics from the survey: Twenty-seven percent of hiring managers reported they have fired a worker for calling in sick without a legitimate reason. The most popular motivator for missing work was the… Read More
Continue ReadingFrom the Bad Business Decisions Dept.
This is sheer stupidity in action – St. Paul gives ex-cons a break on city hiring – With rehabilitation in mind, job applications won’t require disclosure of criminal records. Honestly, what do they hope to accomplish by decreasing their information on a candidate? We always tell our customers to complete a thorough background check before hiring any new employee. It is simply common sense that drives this approach. Then there is the city of St. Paul: The city decided this week to stop requiring job hopefuls to state on their applications whether they’ve ever been convicted of a crime. My first thought was positions that work with children, but then… Read More
Continue ReadingDisqualifying Prospects
Selling entails many skills and aptitudes, but one thing that is often overlooked is the ability to disqualify prospects. Selling Power offers up this article – How to Disqualify Leads – which provides a thorough explanation of techniques. First, a great image that I have not heard used in this context: Brooks says top performers are so guarded about who goes into their pipeline that their pipelines look more like cylinders: fewer opportunities going in one end and a higher percentage of them closing on the other. Contrast that with the other 80 percent of your reps. Typically this group aims to prop up every lead that comes their way,… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Traits Series – Initiative
We’ve defined Self-Starting Ability in a previous post – now let’s define a similar, but still different sales trait that is crucial in any role. Initiative This ability directs ones energies toward the completion of a goal without an external catalyst. The ability to initiate actions based on ones own interpretation, or understanding, of a situation. A salesperson with strength in this capacity has the ability to take action as a result of his or her own decisions. They feel comfortable enough in their own abilities to act on their own decisions without consulting others. They will adapt to a dynamic situation and move around unforeseen obstacles without waiting for… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Advancement or Job Hopping?
I just reviewed a sales management resume I received from a gentleman. The resume contains a handful of spelling and grammatical errors which is a concern. But this is what caught my eye, for the past 10 years, he has changed companies every 2 years. This employment pattern is always a red flag for us. Sales is a difficult position to successfully hire as most people know. A main problem is that bad salespeople often use their good rapport-building skills to subtlely, but emotionally, persuade a hiring manager to hire them. We refer to these types as schmoozers. They look like John Wayne in the interview and perform like Elmer… Read More
Continue ReadingDo or Do Not. There Is No Try.
We’re sourcing for an outside sales position in a sunny climate (not here in Minnesota) and had a candidate respond to an ad. He has tremendous industry experience and was good on the phone screen. He was quite inquisitive and asked strong questions about our customer and their market position. He did his due diligence in researching the company which led to his questions. As is our process, we asked him to complete the online assessments as the next step. The candidate paused. He did not complete them. Instead, he decided to research sales assessments and then contacted us to run through his questions on this topic. We answered some… Read More
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