Millions of vacation days go unused caught my eye this morning. A week before Christmas is a good time to release an article on this topic. One statistic worth noting: In 2005, U.S. workers left a total of 424 million days on the table, Expedia also found. That is a lot of days to forfeit. However, that number does speak to the drive of the American worker. I see a number that large and instantly think of what a pioneering, resourceful country we have. Of course, there should be an appropriate level of work-life balance in one’s career especially since there are tangible benefits. He pointed to findings of the… Read More
Continue ReadingHow NOT To Open Your Cover Letter
To Whom it may concern: I would like to have a great job without being layed off! Seriously, that is how the cover letter opened. And from the title on another resume: Professional Job-Seeker Not the type of title that inspires a long-term employment relationship.
Continue ReadingQualifying Time Frame
We talk often at The Hire Sense about a salesperson’s ability to qualify a prospect. There are many points to qualify in any given opportunity, but one of the important items is time frame. Tirekickers abound on the web and often contact companies to learn more about their offerings. Yet, these tirekickers have no intention to make a short-term purchase. A thought struck me as we work with one of our customers who is searching for a new salesperson. This position involves a technical sale and we have recently sourced a strong candidate that they want to pursue. We were involved in the initial interview and the candidate was quite… Read More
Continue ReadingCoffee Shop Culture
I write this post from a coffee shop in one of Minneapolis’ suburbs. I’m chuckling because just 6 feet from me is a salesperson doing a presentation to a customer while sitting on overstuffed furniture. His laptop is sitting on the coffee table between both people. This scene is replayed thousands of times every day across the country. My quick analysis is that the salesperson is doing quite well and the customer seems to be sold. We conduct many meetings in coffee shops and it is a great meeting location for informal sales meetings. I don’t think this is a revelation for many sales managers, but if you aren’t taking… Read More
Continue ReadingAn Even Tougher Interview
Interviews are stressful for candidates as we posted this morning. If you want to gain an even more in-depth knowledge of the candidate, take them out for a meal as part of your interview process. Selling Power has a quick article worth the read – Out to Lunch? In case you were wondering what to watch for at the meal: Business etiquette expert Barbara Pachter says that by taking a candidate out to a restaurant you will be able to observe interpersonal skills that you may not be able to witness during a more formal interview. First, is the candidate on time? How do they treat the server? What do… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Traits Series – Influencing Others
Sales, in its most basic form, is convincing others to change their behavior. One of the aptitudes we use to objectively assess this important trait is Influencing Others. Influencing Others This is the capacity to convince others – to present ones viewpoint in such a way that it is accepted by another person. A salesperson with strength in this capacity can not only see but talk from another’s point of view. A salesperson who has the ability to understand other’s objections and concerns can then respond to them in an effective manner. A weakness in this area can indicate a salesperson who is insensitive to others – not knowing what… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Fear Factor
CareerJournal.com offers this article – Facing Down the Fear Factor When You’re in a Job Interview. We talk about the fear factor in face-to-face interviews often. Personally, I like to see a touch of fear, or maybe nervousness is a better way to put it, in a sales position interview. Of course, there are limits at both ends of the spectrum. An overly-nervous candidate does not project confidence and is difficult to imagine them running a successful demonstration in front of a grade A prospect. If the candidate is too smooth and calm, the slippery sales schmoozer image is conjured up in my imagination. It is a fine line to… Read More
Continue ReadingAre Employees Satisfied with Their Compensation & Benefits?
In Segal Sibson’s 2006 survey of employee satisfaction, employees responded that their overall satisfaction with their benefit plans was droppiong. Satisfaction with their pay level dropped from 66% in 2000 and 2003 to 55% in 2006. In terms of benefits, I was surprised to see that healthcare benefits didn’t have the largest drop, it did drop to 54% from 60% in 2003, but the largest drop came in retirement benefits, dropping to 42% all the way from 56% in 2003. An interesting point that Segal Sibson made was that one company in particular had made a huge investment in retiree medical coverage, but very few of the employees (even those… Read More
Continue ReadingThere Is No War For Talent?
Toby Dayton has an eye-opening post over at his Diggings blog regarding the shortage of talent in the marketplace today. From his post: According to a recent poll in Human Resource Executive, when HR executives were asked whether or not the war for talent was under way today, 22% responded No while 17% were not sure. I didn’t see that poll but it is amazing to me that these HR executives could be so clueless. This analysis from Toby cuts right to the heart of the issue: The single most important function of HR is to make sure that their company has a constant supply of sufficient human capital to… Read More
Continue ReadingTwin Cities’ Hiring Trend
I never put much stock in these types of surveys, but the local Pioneer Press reports on the recent Manpower survey: Twin Cities employers expect to hire at a sluggish pace during the first quarter of 2007, a Manpower employment survey found. Of the companies interviewed about their hiring plans, 28 percent expect to reduce their payrolls. Another 48 percent expect to maintain their current staff levels. Just 18 percent plan to hire more employees. This survey is a Q1 outlook only and one very important piece of data is our current unemployment. Minnesota is almost at full employment. Our unemployment rate is well under the national average so I… Read More
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